Carbon footprints of rice cultivation under different tillage practices in rice-wheat system

Abstract

Continually rising concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is increasing concerns over how to manage global warming. Quantification of sources and sinks of these gases have been carried out, but there remains incoherence among the estimates due to different nature of sources and processes related therewith. This renders inter-comparison and further utilization of available assessments quite incomparable. Except major point sources like thermal power plants, cement manufacturing, etc. which have been quantified confidently (Matthews et al., 2008), fugitive and sensitive sources/sinks still need proper quantification. Agriculture is one such system which plays dominating role in the global fluxes of CH4 and N2O, as their biggest emitter. Substantial inputs of energy, machinery, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in the modern agriculture bear embodied emissions in addition to much focused direct emissions from soil (Lal, 2004a). At the same time, agricultural soils may reportedly act as considerable carbon sink (Lal, 2004b). Therefore it becomes essential to integrate all inputs-outputs to estimate the actual impact. © Capital Publishing Company 2015.