CARBON EMISSIONS FROM SYNTHETIC FERTILIZER APPLICATION IN THE INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS THE INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS

Abstract

Although the Green Revolution brought about an unparalleled rise in global food production, it also left a large footprint of carbon, raising questions about how sustainable it is. The need for higher food production and the growing global population will require sustainable farming practices. The studies show the impact of green revolution technologies on carbon footprint mainly due to the use of synthetic fertilizers. The use of fertilizer and groundwater irrigation both significantly affect the carbon footprint of agricultural production. Between 1980 and 2015, agricultural intensification led to a 2.5-fold rise in food grain production and a 3-fold increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We have calculated the total emissions due to synthetic fertilizers from different crops and found wheat is having the highest emissions. The total carbon equivalent emissions for wheat in 2017 is (3885.3) Gg CE yr-1 followed by rice having a total emission of (3800.5) Gg CE yr-1 ( Table 2) showing the dominant role of irrigation energy use in rice and fertilizer use in wheat. Sugarcane appears to be an appealing choice for diversification in Indo-Gangetic Plains towards fertilizer emissions due to its lesser contribution to global warming potential and having a high Carbon Sustainability Index of (74) (Table 3) in 2017. Our main research interests are in finding agricultural sustainability and methods for increasing soil carbon sequestration in the Indo-Gangetic Pains.