Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon Footprint of Crop Cultivation Process Under Semiarid Conditions

  • Full-Length Research Article
  • Published:
Agricultural Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the major sectors that get affected as well as cause climate change. Arid and semiarid regions of the world are expected to become more vulnerable to climate change. Thus, in order to develop appropriate mitigation or adaptive strategies, carbon footprint analysis of agriculture sector becomes crucial. Emissions resulting from the cultivation process depend on the inputs used and the environmental conditions. The present study is an effort to analyze the carbon footprint of agriculture crops cultivated in the state of Karnataka with 80% land under rainfed agriculture under semiarid tropical conditions. About 5.37 terra grams of carbon equivalent (TgCE) was found to occur annually. Cereals contributed 5.04 TgCE/year of which 78% comes from rice, as it emits methane in addition to CO2 and NO2. Possible approaches to reduce methane emission are discussed including the possibility of replacing the area under rice with other crops without affecting the dietary as well as peoples preferences. Inorganic nitrogen fertilizer use in the cultivation process accounts for 72% of the total emissions. Combining pulse crops effectively in conventional practices of crop rotation and mixed cropping systems can help in reducing emissions. Manual agriculture followed due to small land holdings facilitates low energy use (8%) under rainfed agriculture, resulting in low carbon input. Irrigated agriculture recorded 4.19 TgCE/year which is almost 3.5 times more than the rainfed agriculture practice. Among the two cropping seasons, Kharif season which is the major cropping season recorded 3.85 TgCE/year against 1.52 TgCE/year during Rabi season. Most tropical regions with fragmented land, low carbon emission as well as with the low productivity need to be treated differently.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Agarwal PK (2003) Impact of climate change on Indian agriculture. J Plant Biol 30:189–198

    Google Scholar 

  2. Agarwal S, Kumar A, Singh PK, Singh A (2011) Response of some genotypes of finger millet (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.) for their salt tolerance. Int J Curr Res 3(9):45–50

    Google Scholar 

  3. Akramov KT (2011) International food prices, agricultural transformation and food security in Central Asia. Dev Pract 21:741–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ali G, Kafi M (2007) Genotypic differences for Allometric relationship between root and shoot characteristics in Chick pea (Cicer arietinum L.). Pak J Bot 39(5):1523–1531

    Google Scholar 

  5. Basavarajappa R, Prabhakar AS, Hallikatti SI (2003) Performance of horse gram and castor crops on residual soil fertility of kharif fox tail millet under shallow alfisols. Karnataka J Agric Sci 16(1):116–120

    Google Scholar 

  6. Benjamin JG, Nielsen DC, Vigil MF, Mikha MM, Calderon F (2014) Water deficit stress effects on corn (Zea mays, L.) root:shoot ratio. J Soil Sci 4:151–160

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bouman BAM, Tuong TP (2001) Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated rice. Agric Water Manag 49(1):11–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chapagain AK, Hoekstra AY (2010) UNESCO IHE. http://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report40-WaterFootprintRice_1.pdf, http://raitamitra.kar.nic.in/Karnataka%20State%20Profile%202013.pdf. Accessed 5 June 2015

  9. Chauhan JS, Tomar YK, Badni A, Indrakumar Singh N, Ali Debarati S, Rawat AS, Autiyal VP (2009) Morphology and influence of various plant growth substances on germination and Early Seedling Growth in Macrottylom mauniforum (Lam). J Am Sci 5(6):3–50

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cheng K, Pan G, Smith P, Luo T, Li L, Zhang X (2011) Carbon footprint to China’s crop production—an estimation using agro-statistics data over 1993–2007. Agric Ecosyst Environ 142:231–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Christmann S, Aw-Hassan A (2011) Should agricultural research in Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC) re-prioritize its agenda with view to climate change? Agric Ecosyst Environ 140:314–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Druckman A, Jackson T (2009) The carbon footprint of UK households 1990–2004: a socio-economically disaggregated, quasi-multi-regional input–output model. Ecol Econ 68:2066–2077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Duby A, Lal R (2009) Carbon footprint and sustainability of agricultural production systems in Punjab, India, and Ohio, USA. J Crop Improv 23:332–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Faye I, Diouf O, Guisse A, Sene DE (2006) Characterizing root response to low phosphorus in pearl millet [Pennisitum glaucum L. (R.) Br.]. Agron J 12:1187–1194

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Ghafoor A, Sharif A, Ahmad Z, Zahid MA, Rabbania MA (2001) Genetic diversity in blackgram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper). Field Crop Res 69:183–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Gupta PK, Gupta V, Sharma C, Das SN, Purkait N, Adhya TK, Pathak H (2009) Development of methane emission factors for Indian rice fields and estimation of national methane budget. Chemosphere 74:590–598

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Habibzadeh Y, Evazi AR, Abedi M (2014) Alleviation drought stress of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) plants by using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Int J Agric Sci Nat Res 1(1):1–6

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hiller J, Hawes C, Squire G, Hilton A, Wale S, Smith P (2009) The carbon footprints of food crop production. Int J Agric Sustain 7(2):107–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. INCAA (2010) Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment: executive summary. www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Report_INCCA.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2015

  20. IPCC (2007) Changes in atmospheric constituents and radiative forcing guidelines for national green house gas inventories. In: Buendia L, Miwa K, Ngara T, Tanabe K (eds) Fourth assessment report working group 1, chapter 2. IPCC, Tokyo, p 212

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kar G, Singh R, Verma HN (2004) Alternative cropping strategies for assured and efficient crop production in upland rainfed rice areas of eastern India based on rainfall analysis. Agric Water Manag 67:47–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. KSDA (2012) Agroclimatic zones of Karnataka. http://raitamitra.kar.nic.in/stat/kacz.htm. Accessed 3 Sept 2014

  23. KSDA (2013) State agriculture profile, Karnataka. http://raitamitra.kar.nic.in/Karnataka%20State%20Profile%202013.pdf. Accessed 9 Oct 2015

  24. Lal R (2004) Carbon emission from farm operations. Environ Int 30:981–990

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Lalchuni T, Plaha DP, Sharma SK (1996) Studies on genetic variability and component analysis in ragi (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.). Indian J Genet Plant Breed 56(2):162–168

    Google Scholar 

  26. Lioubimtseva E, Henebry GM (2009) Climate and environmental change in arid Central Asia: impacts, vulnerability, and adaptations. J Arid Environ 73:963–977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Lorenz A, Gustafson T, Coors J, de Leon N (2009) Is harvest index related to maize productivity?. Department of Agronomy Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, pp 4–14

    Google Scholar 

  28. Mukhtar AA, Babaji BA, Ibrahim S, Mani H, Mohammad AA, Ibrahim A (2013) Dry matter production and harvest index of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) varieties under irrigation. J Agric Sci 5(8):153–162

    Google Scholar 

  29. Neue HU, Latin RS, Wassman R, Aduna JB, Alberto CR, Andales MJF (1994) Methane emission from rice soils of the Philippines. In: Minami K, Mosie A, Sass R (eds) CH4 and N2O: global emissions and controls from rice fields and other agricultural and industrial sources. Yokendo Publishers, Tokyo, pp 55–63

    Google Scholar 

  30. Omid S (2009) The influence of water stress on biomass and harvest index in three mung bean (Vigna radiate (L.) R. Wilczek) cultivars. Asian J Plant Sci 8(3):245–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Pace PF, Harry T, Sherif CHM, El-Halawany J, Tom Cothren A, Senseman S (1999) Drought-induced changes in shoot and root growth of young cotton plants. J Cotton Sci 3:183–187

    Google Scholar 

  32. Patil SL (2007) Performance of sorghum varieties and hybrids during post rainy season under drought situations in Vertisols in Bellary, India. J SAT Agric Res 5(1):1–3

    Google Scholar 

  33. Perry S, Klemes J, Bulatov I (2008) Integrating waste and renewable energy to reduce the carbon footprint of locally integrated energy sectors. Energy 33:1489–1497

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Pingali P (2006) Westernization of Asian diets and the transformation of food systems: implications for research and policy. Food Policy 32:281–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Prasad R (2012) Text book of field crops production food grain crops, vol I. Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agricultural Research Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-I, New Delhi, pp 23–30

    Google Scholar 

  36. Rajanna MP (2010) Status report on rice in Karnataka, 2010. [2013-10-18]. http://www.rkmp.co.in. Accessed 8 June 2016

  37. Rakchunseong (2002) Dry matter accumulation, harvest index and yield of Soybean in response to planting time. Korean J Crop Sci 47(4):311–318

    Google Scholar 

  38. Ramachandra TV, Swethmala (2012) Decentralized carbon footprint analysis for opting climate change mitigation strategies in India. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 16:5820–5833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Ramakrishna SP, Wani CSR, Reddy SU (2005) Increased chickpea yield and economic benefits by improved crop production technology in rainfed areas of Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh, India. J SAT Agric Res 191(1):1–3

    Google Scholar 

  40. Rao SJ, Vincent V, Pooja BM, Mangamoori LN, Sharma KK (2012) Better root:shoot ratio conferred enhanced harvest index in transgenic groundnut over expressing the rd29A:DREB1A gene under intermittent drought stress in an outdoor lysimetric dry-down trial. India J SAT Agric Res 12:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  41. Reddy YAN, Shankaar R, Udayakumar M (2003) Physiological approach to improving Harvest Index and productivity in Sunflower. Helia 26(3):81–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ruwali KN, Sirohi GS, Tomar OPS (1983) Physiological nature of hybrid vigor in bajra hybrid-1 (Pennisetum typhoides (Burm S & H) in relation to its parents II. Yield analysis of bajra hybrid-1 and its parents under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Indian J Plant Physiol 260(1):45–54

    Google Scholar 

  43. Saseendran SA, Singh KK, Rathore LS, Singh SV, Singh KK (2000) Effect of climate change on rice production in the tropical humid climate of Kerala. India Clim Change 44:495–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Sass RL, Fisher FM, Lewis ST, Jund MF, Turner FT (1994) Methane emission from rice fields: effect of soil properties. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 8:135–140

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Shalini A, Dahiya RP, Talyan V, Vrat P (2005) Investigations of methane emissions from rice cultivation in Indian context. Environ Int 31:469–482

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Sloggett G (1992) Estimating energy use in world irrigation. In: Fluck RD (ed) Energy in farm production, 1st edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 203–218

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  47. Snyder CS, Bruulsema TW, Jensen TL, Fixen PE (2009) Review of greenhouse gas emissions from crop production systems and fertilizer management effects. Agric Ecosyst Environ 133:247–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Sürek H, Beser N (1999) The effect of water stress on grain and total biological yield and harvest index in rice (Oryzae sativa L.). In: Chataigner J (ed) Future of water management for rice in Mediterranean climate areas: proceedings of the workshops, Montpellier, pp 61–68

  49. Tripathi SC (2010) http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/awn/56/AWN_VOL_56.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct 2015

  50. Vanaja M, Raghuram RP, Jyothi LN, Maheswari M, Vagheera P, Ratnakumar P, Jyothi M, Yadav SK, Venkateswarlu B (2007) Effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations on growth and yield of blackgram (VignamungoL. Hepper)—a rainfed pulse crop. Plant Soil Environ 53(2):81–88

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Venkatalakshmi K (2014) Maximizing red gram yield through integrated agronomic management practices under alkali soil. Res J Agric For Sci 2(3):1–6

    Google Scholar 

  52. Wassmann R, Lantin RS, Neue HU, Buendia LV, Corton TM, Lu Y (2000) Characterization of methane emissions from rice fields in Asia. III. Mitigation options and future research needs. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 58:23–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. West TO, Marland G (2002) Net carbon flux from agriculture ecosystems: methodology for full carbon analysis. Environ Pollut 116:439–444

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Xu X, Zhang B, Liu Y, Xue Y, Di B (2013) Carbon footprints of rice production in five typical rice districts in China. Acta Ecol Sin 33:227–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Karnataka State, Department of Agriculture, for sharing the data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, 560 065, India

    A. S. Devakumar & R. Pardis

  2. Department of Agriculture Statistics, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, 560 065, India

    V. Manjunath

Authors
  1. A. S. Devakumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Pardis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. V. Manjunath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. S. Devakumar.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 22 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Devakumar, A.S., Pardis, R. & Manjunath, V. Carbon Footprint of Crop Cultivation Process Under Semiarid Conditions. Agric Res 7, 167–175 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-018-0315-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-018-0315-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation