Life cycle GHG evaluation of organic rice production

Thursday, 25 May 2017 Read 1293 times Written by TCCN

Life cycle GHG evaluation of organic rice production in northern Thailand

Sanwasan Yodkhum a, Shabbir H. Gheewala c, d, Sate Sampattagul a, b, *

^aFaculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

^b Center of Excellent on Energy, Economic and Ecological Management, Science and Technology Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

c The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

^d Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, PERDO, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is one of the serious international environmental issues that can lead to severe damages such as climate change, sea level rise, emerging disease and many other impacts. Rice cultivation is associated with emissions of potent GHGs such as methane and nitrous oxide. Thai rice has been massively exported worldwide however the markets are becoming more competitive than ever since the green market has been hugely promoted. In order to maintain the same level or enhance of competitiveness, Thai rice needs to be considered for environmentally conscious products to meet the international environmental standards. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the greenhouse gas emis- sions throughout the life cycle of rice production in order to identify the major emission sources and possible reduction strategies. In this research, the rice variety considered is Khao Dawk Mali 105 (KDML 105) cultivated by organic practices. The data sources were Don-Chiang Organic Agricultural Cooperative (DCOAC), Mae-teang district, Chiang Mai province, Thailand and the Ofﬁce of Agricultural Economics (OAE) of Thailand with onsite records and interviews of farmers in 2013. The GHG emissions were calculated from cradle- to-farm by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach and the 2006 IPCC Guideline for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The functional unit is deﬁned as 1 kg of paddy rice at farm gate. Results showed that the total GHG emissions of organic rice production were 0.58 kg CO2-eq per kg of paddy rice. The major source of GHG emission was from the ﬁeld emissions accounting for 0.48 kg CO2-eq per kg of paddy rice, about 83% of total, followed by land preparation, harvesting and other stages (planting, cultivation and transport of raw materials) were 9, 5 and 3% of total, respectively. The comparative results clearly showed that the GHG emissions of organic paddy rice were considerably lower than conventional rice production due to the advantages of using organic fertilisers.

Corresponding author. Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

E-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (S. Sampattagul).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.004