IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v265y2020ics0306261920303081.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Land–water–energy nexus in agricultural management for greenhouse gas mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Fan, Xing
  • Zhang, Wen
  • Chen, Weiwei
  • Chen, Bin

Abstract

Agriculture plays an important role in global climate change. The interaction and efficiency of use of land, water, and energy in agricultural activities are the principal factors affecting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and food production. However, comprehensive analysis exploring the mechanism of the land–water–energy system in agricultural production remains lacking. This study developed such a framework based on regional agricultural GHG emissions by combining top-down analysis that considered cross-sectoral interactions with bottom-up analysis that addressed the context-specific conditions of resources and technology. We employed the proposed framework to analyze the interaction of land–water–energy and factors influencing agricultural GHG emissions and to explore mitigation measures based on a case study of the Sanjiang Plain (China). Results showed cropland on the Sanjiang Plain produced 1.8 million tonnes of protein and released 10.9 million tonnes of CO2eq in 2015 using 3.0 million ha of arable land, 12.1 billion m3 of water, and 100.4 PJ of energy. Owing to their high input of resources and flooded cultivation, rice fields produced 29% of total crop protein but consumed 51% of total crop water use, 43% of total crop energy use, and emitted 54% of total crop GHG (CO2eq). Structural adjustment through conversion of half the paddy fields into dryland crops (e.g., wheat) could mitigate GHG emissions by 18.8% in 2020 compared with the baseline scenario. However, such change would be almost impossible given the Sanjiang Plain is one of China’s most important rice-producing areas. If integrated technology improvements were adopted, e.g., advanced crop–soil nutrition management, groundwater protection measures, water-saving irrigation technology, and low-carbon energy technology, GHG emissions could be reduced by 23.9% without sacrificing food production. This study used the nexus approach to analyze agricultural GHG emissions, providing a framework for sustainable agricultural management and a reference for understanding the land–water–energy nexus.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan, Xing & Zhang, Wen & Chen, Weiwei & Chen, Bin, 2020. "Land–water–energy nexus in agricultural management for greenhouse gas mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:265:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920303081
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114796
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920303081
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114796?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michele Graffeo, 2017. "Mitigation through food," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 236-236, April.
    2. Mark Howells & Sebastian Hermann & Manuel Welsch & Morgan Bazilian & Rebecka Segerström & Thomas Alfstad & Dolf Gielen & Holger Rogner & Guenther Fischer & Harrij van Velthuizen & David Wiberg & Charl, 2013. "Integrated analysis of climate change, land-use, energy and water strategies," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 621-626, July.
    3. Kimberly M. Carlson & James S. Gerber & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Mario Herrero & Graham K. MacDonald & Kate A. Brauman & Petr Havlik & Christine S. O’Connell & Justin A. Johnson & Sassan Saatchi & Paul , 2017. "Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of global croplands," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 63-68, January.
    4. Wang, Yafei & Liang, Sai, 2013. "Carbon dioxide mitigation target of China in 2020 and key economic sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 90-96.
    5. Ghorbani, Reza & Mondani, Farzad & Amirmoradi, Shahram & Feizi, Hassan & Khorramdel, Surror & Teimouri, Mozhgan & Sanjani, Sara & Anvarkhah, Sepideh & Aghel, Hassan, 2011. "A case study of energy use and economical analysis of irrigated and dryland wheat production systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 283-288, January.
    6. Dave S. Reay & Eric A. Davidson & Keith A. Smith & Pete Smith & Jerry M. Melillo & Frank Dentener & Paul J. Crutzen, 2012. "Global agriculture and nitrous oxide emissions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 410-416, June.
    7. Inas El Gafy & Neil Grigg & Waskom Reagan, 2017. "Water-food-energy nexus index to maximize the economic water and energy productivity in an optimal cropping pattern," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 495-503, May.
    8. Burandt, Thorsten & Xiong, Bobby & Löffler, Konstantin & Oei, Pao-Yu, 2019. "Decarbonizing China’s energy system – Modeling the transformation of the electricity, transportation, heat, and industrial sectors," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 255, pages 1-17.
    9. Mushtaq, Shahbaz & Maraseni, Tek Narayan & Maroulis, Jerry & Hafeez, Mohsin, 2009. "Energy and water tradeoffs in enhancing food security: A selective international assessment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3635-3644, September.
    10. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, 2016. "Development and application of integrative modeling tools in support of food-energy-water nexus planning—a research agenda," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 6(1), pages 3-10, March.
    11. Zhao, Rongqin & Liu, Ying & Tian, Mengmeng & Ding, Minglei & Cao, Lianhai & Zhang, Zhanping & Chuai, Xiaowei & Xiao, Liangang & Yao, Lunguang, 2018. "Impacts of water and land resources exploitation on agricultural carbon emissions: The water-land-energy-carbon nexus," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 480-492.
    12. John R. Porter & Mark Howden & Pete Smith, 2017. "Considering agriculture in IPCC assessments," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(10), pages 680-683, October.
    13. Jonathan A. Foley & Navin Ramankutty & Kate A. Brauman & Emily S. Cassidy & James S. Gerber & Matt Johnston & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Christine O’Connell & Deepak K. Ray & Paul C. West & Christian Balz, 2011. "Solutions for a cultivated planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7369), pages 337-342, October.
    14. Bai, Hongtao & Feng, Xiangyu & Hou, Huimin & He, Gang & Dong, Yan & Xu, He, 2018. "Mapping inter-industrial CO2 flows within China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 400-408.
    15. Yuan Chang & Guijun Li & Yuan Yao & Lixiao Zhang & Chang Yu, 2016. "Quantifying the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Current Status and Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    16. Burandt, Thorsten & Xiong, Bobby & Löffler, Konstantin & Oei, Pao-Yu, 2019. "Decarbonizing China’s energy system – Modeling the transformation of the electricity, transportation, heat, and industrial sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen Bai & Lixiao Yao & Cheng Wang & Yongxuan Zhao & Weien Peng, 2022. "Optimization of Water and Energy Spatial Patterns in the Cascade Pump Station Irrigation District," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Hourieh Masaeli & Alireza Gohari & Marzieh Hasanzadeh Saray & Ali Torabi Haghighi, 2023. "Developing a new water–energy–food‐greenhouse gases nexus tool for sustainable agricultural landscape management," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 877-892, April.
    3. Zhou, Yanlai & Chang, Fi-John & Chang, Li-Chiu & Lee, Wei-De & Huang, Angela & Xu, Chong-Yu & Guo, Shenglian, 2020. "An advanced complementary scheme of floating photovoltaic and hydropower generation flourishing water-food-energy nexus synergies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    4. Liang Li & Ying Xiang & Xinyue Fan & Qinxiang Wang & Yang Wei, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Agricultural Production Efficiency in Sichuan Province from the Perspective of “Water–Land–Energy–Carbon” Coupling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
    5. Kristin B. Raub & Kristine F. Stepenuck & Bindu Panikkar & Jennie C. Stephens, 2021. "An Analysis of Resilience Planning at the Nexus of Food, Energy, Water, and Transportation in Coastal US Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Li, Mo & Cao, Xiaoxu & Liu, Dong & Fu, Qiang & Li, Tianxiao & Shang, Ruochen, 2022. "Sustainable management of agricultural water and land resources under changing climate and socio-economic conditions: A multi-dimensional optimization approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    7. Khanali, Majid & Akram, Asadollah & Behzadi, Javad & Mostashari-Rad, Fatemeh & Saber, Zahra & Chau, Kwok-wing & Nabavi-Pelesaraei, Ashkan, 2021. "Multi-objective optimization of energy use and environmental emissions for walnut production using imperialist competitive algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    8. Justas Streimikis & Zhuang Miao & Tomas Balezentis, 2021. "Creation of climate‐smart and energy‐efficient agriculture in the European Union: Pathways based on the frontier analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 576-589, January.
    9. Li, Junjie & Zhang, Yueling & Yang, Yanli & Zhang, Xiaomei & Wang, Nana & Zheng, Yonghong & Tian, Yajun & Xie, Kechang, 2022. "Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of ethanol production via coal and its competitors: A comparative study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    10. Xia, Chuyu & Chen, Bin, 2020. "Urban land-carbon nexus based on ecological network analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    11. Bingbing Huang & Hui Kong & Jinhong Yu & Xiaoyou Zhang, 2022. "A Study on the Impact of Low-Carbon Technology Application in Agriculture on the Returns of Large-Scale Farmers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Shi-jie Jiang & Lilin Wang & Feiyun Xiang, 2023. "The Effect of Agriculture Insurance on Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China: The Mediation Role of Low-Carbon Technology Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Feng, Meiqing & Chen, Yaning & Duan, Weili & Fang, Gonghuan & li, Zhi & Jiao, Li & Sun, Fan & Li, Yupeng & Hou, Yifeng, 2022. "Comprehensive evaluation of the water-energy-food nexus in the agricultural management of the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    14. Wang, Shuhang & Wang, Xu & Fu, Zhenghui & Liu, Feng & Xu, Ye & Li, Wei, 2022. "A novel energy-water nexus based CHP operation optimization model under water shortage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mengzhu Xiao & Manuel Wetzel & Thomas Pregger & Sonja Simon & Yvonne Scholz, 2020. "Modeling the Supply of Renewable Electricity to Metropolitan Regions in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-31, June.
    2. Tiziano Gomiero, 2016. "Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-41, March.
    3. Martinez-Hernandez, Elias & Leach, Matthew & Yang, Aidong, 2017. "Understanding water-energy-food and ecosystem interactions using the nexus simulation tool NexSym," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1009-1021.
    4. David Font Vivanco & Ranran Wang & Sebastiaan Deetman & Edgar Hertwich, 2019. "Unraveling the Nexus: Exploring the Pathways to Combined Resource Use," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 241-252, February.
    5. Jan Fořt & Jiří Šál & Jaroslav Žák & Robert Černý, 2020. "Assessment of Wood-Based Fly Ash as Alternative Cement Replacement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Yao Qian & Lang Sun & Quanyi Qiu & Lina Tang & Xiaoqi Shang & Chengxiu Lu, 2020. "Analysis of CO 2 Drivers and Emissions Forecast in a Typical Industry-Oriented County: Changxing County, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Pan, Xunzhang & Ma, Xueqing & Zhang, Yanru & Shao, Tianming & Peng, Tianduo & Li, Xiang & Wang, Lining & Chen, Wenying, 2023. "Implications of carbon neutrality for power sector investments and stranded coal assets in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    8. Jasmine Ramsebner & Reinhard Haas & Amela Ajanovic & Martin Wietschel, 2021. "The sector coupling concept: A critical review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), July.
    9. Wang, Xiaokui & Bamisile, Olusola & Chen, Shuheng & Xu, Xiao & Luo, Shihua & Huang, Qi & Hu, Weihao, 2022. "Decarbonization of China's electricity systems with hydropower penetration and pumped-hydro storage: Comparing the policies with a techno-economic analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 65-83.
    10. Mario Herrero & Benjamin Henderson & Petr Havlík & Philip K. Thornton & Richard T. Conant & Pete Smith & Stefan Wirsenius & Alexander N. Hristov & Pierre Gerber & Margaret Gill & Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, 2016. "Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 452-461, May.
    11. Pritee Sharma & Salla Nithyanth Kumar, 2020. "The global governance of water, energy, and food nexus: allocation and access for competing demands," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 377-391, June.
    12. Junlian Gao & Xiangyang Xu & Guiying Cao & Yurii M. Ermoliev & Tatiana Y. Ermolieva & Elena A. Rovenskaya, 2018. "Optimizing Regional Food and Energy Production under Limited Water Availability through Integrated Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-12, May.
    13. Ansari, Dawud & Holz, Franziska, 2020. "Between stranded assets and green transformation: Fossil-fuel-producing developing countries towards 2055," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Feng, Meiqing & Chen, Yaning & Duan, Weili & Fang, Gonghuan & li, Zhi & Jiao, Li & Sun, Fan & Li, Yupeng & Hou, Yifeng, 2022. "Comprehensive evaluation of the water-energy-food nexus in the agricultural management of the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    15. Pritee Sharma & Salla Nithyanth Kumar, 0. "The global governance of water, energy, and food nexus: allocation and access for competing demands," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    16. Radmehr, Riza & Ghorbani, Mohammad & Ziaei, Ali Naghi, 2021. "Quantifying and managing the water-energy-food nexus in dry regions food insecurity: New methods and evidence," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Hainsch, Karlo & Löffler, Konstantin & Burandt, Thorsten & Auer, Hans & Crespo del Granado, Pedro & Pisciella, Paolo & Zwickl-Bernhard, Sebastian, 2022. "Energy transition scenarios: What policies, societal attitudes, and technology developments will realize the EU Green Deal?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    18. Meng, Fanxin & Liu, Gengyuan & Liang, Sai & Su, Meirong & Yang, Zhifeng, 2019. "Critical review of the energy-water-carbon nexus in cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1017-1032.
    19. Hubert Hirwa & Qiuying Zhang & Yunfeng Qiao & Yu Peng & Peifang Leng & Chao Tian & Sayidjakhon Khasanov & Fadong Li & Alphonse Kayiranga & Fabien Muhirwa & Auguste Cesar Itangishaka & Gabriel Habiyare, 2021. "Insights on Water and Climate Change in the Greater Horn of Africa: Connecting Virtual Water and Water-Energy-Food-Biodiversity-Health Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    20. Andrew Crossland & Keith Scoles & Allen Wang & Chris Groves & Susan Sun, 2020. "Assessment of Electricity Decarbonization Scenarios for New Zealand and Great Britain using a Plant Dispatch and Electrical Energy Storage Modelling Framework," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:265:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920303081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.