Greenhouse gas emissions
The emissions profile for all three crops are shown below in figure 2. The emissions profile of wheat and barley were dominated by fertiliser production and use and residue emissions were also relatively high. Emissions from the production of faba beans were dominated by fertiliser production and use, and emissions associated with residue breakdown and chemical production.
Figure 2: Greenhouse gas emissions profile for the production of wheat, barley and faba beans in the Vic High Rainfall agroecological zone.Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies
Mitigation strategies tested for the region were;
- Sustainable intensification
- 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;
- 71% through the implementation of sustainable intensification
- 8% by additional lime applications
- 18% 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 171%.
Figure 3: Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for wheat production when grown with sustainable intensification, variable fertiliser, additional lime applications and legume - wheat mitigation strategies in the Vic High Rainfall agroecological zone
Accessible Content
Accessible versions of the raw data used to generate these charts is below.Greenhouse Gas Emissions Profile
Wheat | Canola | Faba beans | |
---|---|---|---|
Lime production | 4.259709 | 7.505202 | 10.7767 |
Lime use | 7.224331 | 12.72858 | 18.27694 |
Fertiliser production | 79.68422 | 171.7495 | 67.5306 |
Fertiliser use | 110.8096 | 206.8963 | 25.1147 |
Residue emissions | 54.9992 | 116.0882 | 78.67765 |
Transport | 4.435307 | 8.343222 | 9.443263 |
Tractor operations | 22.68345 | 43.59893 | 57.399 |
Chemical production | 16.14564 | 39.70007 | 73.2249 |
Calc total | 288.7574 | 586.3762 | 311.3901 |
Mitigation Strategies
Strategy | Result |
---|---|
Sustainable intensification | -71 |
Legume wheat rotation | 174 |
Additional lime applications | -8 |
Variable rate technology fertiliser | -18 |