Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China

● Sugarcane and sugar beet yield and carbon footprint rose with time but profit declined ● Labor and nitrogen fertilizer were the largest contributors of carbon footprint. ● Optimized crops lowered carbon footprint and total cost by 32% and 24%, respectively. Climate change mitigation is a major c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Linsheng YANG, Xiaozhong WANG, Wushuai ZHANG, Prakash LAKSHMANAN, Yan DENG, Xiaojun SHI, Xinping CHEN, Fusuo ZHANG
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Higher Education Press 2024-09-01
Series:Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2023529
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850034580649672704
author Linsheng YANG
Xiaozhong WANG
Wushuai ZHANG
Prakash LAKSHMANAN
Yan DENG
Xiaojun SHI
Xinping CHEN
Fusuo ZHANG
author_facet Linsheng YANG
Xiaozhong WANG
Wushuai ZHANG
Prakash LAKSHMANAN
Yan DENG
Xiaojun SHI
Xinping CHEN
Fusuo ZHANG
author_sort Linsheng YANG
collection DOAJ
description ● Sugarcane and sugar beet yield and carbon footprint rose with time but profit declined ● Labor and nitrogen fertilizer were the largest contributors of carbon footprint. ● Optimized crops lowered carbon footprint and total cost by 32% and 24%, respectively. Climate change mitigation is a major challenge of human society. Currently, to this end, many countries including China are committed to achieving carbon neutrality within a few decades. China is a major sugarcane and sugar beet producing country and has one of the largest carbon footprint for sugarcane and sugar beet production globally. A comprehensive study was conducted on sugarcane and sugar beet crops grown in China for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation potential, economic crop production from a sustainable sugar production perspective. Long-term trend analysis showed that yield and GHG emissions of sugarcane and sugar beet crops increased but the ratio of income to cost declined. Structural equation model analysis revealed nitrogen fertilizer and labor as the major drivers of GHG emissions for both sugarcane and sugar beet. For sugarcane and sugar beet, the path coefficient of N fertilizer were ‒0.964 and ‒0.835 and that of labor were 0.771 and 0.589, respectively. By transitioning the current cropping system to an improved model with optimized labor, N input and machinery use, the GHG emissions and total annual cost of sugarcane and sugar beet production can be reduced by 32% and 24%, respectively, by 2030, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. This is the first integrated and comparative study of environmental and economic sustainability of sugarcane and sugar beet production in China. These findings will enable all stakeholders of Chinese sugarcane and sugar beet industries to transform them into environmentally and economically sustainable sugar production.
format Article
id doaj-art-a8cba8ef93374dfa80bb39a6c10abe7f
institution DOAJ
issn 2095-7505
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher Higher Education Press
record_format Article
series Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-a8cba8ef93374dfa80bb39a6c10abe7f2025-08-20T02:57:46ZengHigher Education PressFrontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering2095-75052024-09-0111339740810.15302/J-FASE-2023529Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in ChinaLinsheng YANG0Xiaozhong WANG1Wushuai ZHANG2Prakash LAKSHMANAN3Yan DENG4Xiaojun SHI5Xinping CHEN6Fusuo ZHANG71. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|3. Rice Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230031, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|4. Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement (Guangxi), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Sugarcane Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning 530007, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|2. Key Laboratory of Low-carbon Green Agriculture in Southwestern China (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China1. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Agriculture Green Development in Yangtze River Basin, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China|5. Center for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China ● Sugarcane and sugar beet yield and carbon footprint rose with time but profit declined ● Labor and nitrogen fertilizer were the largest contributors of carbon footprint. ● Optimized crops lowered carbon footprint and total cost by 32% and 24%, respectively. Climate change mitigation is a major challenge of human society. Currently, to this end, many countries including China are committed to achieving carbon neutrality within a few decades. China is a major sugarcane and sugar beet producing country and has one of the largest carbon footprint for sugarcane and sugar beet production globally. A comprehensive study was conducted on sugarcane and sugar beet crops grown in China for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation potential, economic crop production from a sustainable sugar production perspective. Long-term trend analysis showed that yield and GHG emissions of sugarcane and sugar beet crops increased but the ratio of income to cost declined. Structural equation model analysis revealed nitrogen fertilizer and labor as the major drivers of GHG emissions for both sugarcane and sugar beet. For sugarcane and sugar beet, the path coefficient of N fertilizer were ‒0.964 and ‒0.835 and that of labor were 0.771 and 0.589, respectively. By transitioning the current cropping system to an improved model with optimized labor, N input and machinery use, the GHG emissions and total annual cost of sugarcane and sugar beet production can be reduced by 32% and 24%, respectively, by 2030, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. This is the first integrated and comparative study of environmental and economic sustainability of sugarcane and sugar beet production in China. These findings will enable all stakeholders of Chinese sugarcane and sugar beet industries to transform them into environmentally and economically sustainable sugar production.https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2023529Economic profitsGHG emissionslabor inputnitrogen inputsugar
spellingShingle Linsheng YANG
Xiaozhong WANG
Wushuai ZHANG
Prakash LAKSHMANAN
Yan DENG
Xiaojun SHI
Xinping CHEN
Fusuo ZHANG
Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Economic profits
GHG emissions
labor input
nitrogen input
sugar
title Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
title_full Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
title_fullStr Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
title_full_unstemmed Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
title_short Greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in China
title_sort greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and economic viability of sugar crops in china
topic Economic profits
GHG emissions
labor input
nitrogen input
sugar
url https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2023529
work_keys_str_mv AT linshengyang greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT xiaozhongwang greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT wushuaizhang greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT prakashlakshmanan greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT yandeng greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT xiaojunshi greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT xinpingchen greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina
AT fusuozhang greenhousegasemissionsmitigationandeconomicviabilityofsugarcropsinchina