Greenhouse gas emissions
The emissions profile for both crops modelled for the region shown below in figure 2. For wheat, the greatest source of emissions was the use of fertiliser but fertiliser production also made a considerable contribution to total emissions. The emissions profile of barley production was dominated by fertiliser production and lime use also made a considerable contribution to total emissions.
Figure 2: Greenhouse gas emissions profile for the production of wheat and barley in the Tasmanian agroecological zone.Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies
Mitigation strategies tested for the region were;
- Additional applications of lime
- Implementation of variable rate fertiliser technology
- Changing a wheat-wheat rotation to a legume-wheat rotation
More information on the assumptions used to test these strategies and how they might reflect individual enterprises are available on the Mitigation strategies page.
Results (figure 3 below) indicate that emissions of a t of wheat can be reduced by;
- 22% by additional lime applications
- 17% by implementation of variable rate fertiliser technology
Results also indicate the replacing a wheat crop with a legume crop in a two-crop rotation can increase greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 198%.
Figure 3: Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for wheat production when grown with variable fertiliser, additional lime applications and legume - wheat mitigation strategies in the Tasmanian agroecological zone.
Accessible Content
Accessible versions of the raw data used to generate these charts is below.Greenhouse Gas Emission Profile
Wheat | Barley | |
---|---|---|
Lime production | 1.981727 | 3.940231 |
Lime use | 28.00788 | 55.68755 |
Fertiliser production | 81.46729 | 70.07295 |
Fertiliser use | 119.7676 | 13.997 |
Residue emissions | 27.84691 | 25.92023 |
Transport | 2.695533 | 4.121599 |
Tractor operations | 11.97137 | 23.80246 |
Chemical production | 12.69341 | 36.1965 |
Calc total | 286.4317 | 233.7385 |
Mitigation Strategies
Strategy | Result |
---|---|
Sustainable intensification | -67 |
Legume wheat rotation | 198 |
Additional lime applications | -22 |
Variable rate technology fertiliser | -17 |