The world is running short of time and option at social and economic front in view of high risks related with global warming and climate change, which is a result of the “enhanced greenhouse effect” mainly due to human induced release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere (IPCC, 2007). The GHGs inventories are going on all over the world and every possible method to control them are being recognized and evaluated. Carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that is directly and indirectly caused by an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product (Pandey et al., 2011). The crop production contributes significantly to global carbon emissions at different stage of crop through the production and use of farm machinery, crop protection chemicals such as herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, and fertilizer (Hillier et al., 2012). Pathak et al.(2010) calculated the carbon footprint of 24 Indian food items and reported that in the production of these food item 87% emission came from food production followed by preparation (10%), processing (2%) and transportation (1%). Maheswarappa et al. (2011) reported that the C-sustainability index (increase in C output as % of C-based input) of Indian agriculture has decreased with time (from 7 in 1960-61 to 3 in 2008-9). Agricultural uses, including both food production and consumption, contribute the most reactive nitrogen (Nr) to the global environment. Once lost to the environment, the nitrogen moves through the Earth’s atmosphere, forests, grasslands and waters causing a cascade of environmental changes that negatively impact both people and ecosystems. Leach et al. (2012) developed a tool called N-Calculator, a nitrogen footprint model that provides information on how to reduce Nr to the environment. Therefore, Quantification of GHGs from each stage of lifecycle of a product gives complete picture of its impact on global warming and provides necessary information to develop low C technology and mitigation option not only for industrial product but also for agricultural produce. The C and N footprint for a given field will allow growers, advisors and policy makers to make informed decisions about management to optimize crop production, biodiversity and carbon footprint.

1. Pravash Chandra Moharana
Roll No. 9905
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry
Indian Agricultural Research Institute
New Delhi-110 012

2. Contents

3. Introduction
As any other industrial process, food
production system also contributes to
Depletion of natural resources
Environment pollution, and
Climate change
Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Activities

4. Emission of GHG (CO2 equivalent emissions) from
different Agriculture sector (million tonnes)
INCCA, 2010
Million tonnes

5. Greenhouse gases emission in ecosystems
IPCC, 2006

6. Increasing the
Increasing the
agricultural production to
feed ever-growing population
agricultural production to
feed ever-growing population
Major challenges
Reduction of GHG emission for
climate change mitigation in
compliance with the international
Reduction of GHG emission for
climate change mitigation in
compliance with the international
treaty or obligation
treaty or obligation

7. Need of hour...
Understanding of the mitigation potential and
developing low carbon practices in agriculture.
For this purpose great efforts have been given
worldwide to quantifying the Carbon
Footprint of agricultural production which
requires an understanding of the Life Cycle of
a product
(Wiltshire et al., 2008)

8. What is Carbon Footprint ??
Carbon footprint (CF) is a measure of the exclusive total amount of
carbon dioxide emissions that is directly and indirectly caused by
an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product
Carbon footprint (CF) is a measure of the exclusive total amount of
carbon dioxide emissions that is directly and indirectly caused by
an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product
(Wiedmann and Minx, 2007)
(Wiedmann and Minx, 2007)
CF is a measure of the exclusive total amount of GHGs emission in
carbon equivalent (CE) that is directly and indirectly caused by an
individual, organization, process, product, or event over entire
lifecycle or within a specified boundary
CF is a measure of the exclusive total amount of GHGs emission in
carbon equivalent (CE) that is directly and indirectly caused by an
individual, organization, process, product, or event over entire
lifecycle or within a specified boundary
(Dubey and Lal, 2009; Pandey et al., 2011)
(Dubey and Lal, 2009; Pandey et al., 2011)

9. Why work out a carbon footprint?
Carbon footprint, being a quantitative expression of GHG
emissions from an activity helps in
 Emission management and evaluation of mitigation measures
 Identification of important sources of emissions in entire life
period
 Prioritization of areas of emission reductions and increasing
efficiencies
 Provides the opportunity for environmental efficiencies and cost
reductions
 Useful for respond to legislative requirements, or carbon trading
or as a part of corporate social responsibility, or for improving
the brand’s image

10. Per capita carbon footprint
Pandey et al., 2011

11. Per capita carbon footprint in different classes on countries
based on degree of development (based on UNDP 2007)
UNDP, 2007; Pandey et al., 2011

13. 1. Defining Goal and Scope:
Select product or activity
Define purpose of study
Fix boundaries accordingly
2. Inventory Analysis:
Identify all relevant inputs and outputs
Quantify GHGs (At this stage, data are in terms of energy
consumed, emission amounts, etc.)
3. Impact Analysis:
Determine the resulting environmental impacts (At this stage, the
previous data are translated in different impact)
4. Interpretation / Improvement Analysis:
Use value for judgment to assess and/or in relation to the objectives
of the study
Steps of C footprint

14. Defining activities in Crop production
Fertilizer production
Pesticide and other chemical production
Seed production
Fuel production
Transportation
Pre farm
Field preparations (tillage, harrowing, puddling etc)
Seed treatment and sowing
Fertilizer and manure application
Pesticide application
Irrigation
Weeding
Other intercultural operations
Harvesting
Crop residue burning
Drying
Threshing
Winnowing
Storage
On farm
Transportation
Distribution
Consumption
Waste
Post farm

15. INPUT ACTIVITIES OUT PUT IMPACT
 Grain
 Straw
 GHG (CO2,
CH4, N2O)
Water loss
(evaporation,
percolation,
runoff)
 Nutrient loss
(volatilizatio
n, leaching,
runoff,
adsorption)
 Electricity
 Diesel
 Seed
 Water
 Fertilizers
 Pesticides
 labors
 Transportation
 Field preparations
(tillage, harrowing)
 Seed treatment and
sowing
 Fertilizer and manure
application
 Pesticide application
 Irrigation
 Weeding
 Intercultural
operations,
harvesting
 Threshing
 Winnowing
 Storage
 Food and
feed safety
 Global
warming/cli
mate change
 Ozone layer
depletion
 Acid rain
 Soil and
water
pollution
 Eutrophica-tion
Inventory Analysis of Agriculture

16. Carbon foot print calculation
1. Quantification of green house gas emission in CO2 - eq
a. From production and transportation of off farm input
NPK-fertilizers, pesticide or other chemical, diesel, electricity, etc.
Carbon Cost of input = Agricultural Input × Emission Factor
Carbon cost represents the GHGs emission induced by certain agricultural
input (in tCE)
Carbon cost of direct N2O emission (CFN) from chemical N fertilizer
application
Cheng et al., 2011
CFN=FN×δN×(44/28)×298× (12/44)
Where, FN= quantity of N fertilizer
δN= emission factor of N2O

17. 2. Total Carbon footprint of crop production
CFt = CFF + CFN + CFp + CFIR + CFPF + CFD
where,
CFF= Individual carbon costs from inputs fertilizers
CFN = direct N2O from N fertilizer applied
CFp = pesticides
CFIR = irrigation
CFPF = plastic films
CFD = mechanical performance
Cheng et al., 2011

18. Emission factors of agriculture inputs

19. Carbon footprint
For crop production

20. GHG emission from corn production
Inputs of corn production System
Inputs Corn
Fertilizer (kg)
N 145
P2O5 51
K2O 65
Sulphur 4.2
Lime 321
Energy
Diesel (L) 43.0
Gas (L) 11.2
LPG (L) 67.3
Elect. (kwh) 41.5
Herb/Pesticides (kg) 2.8
Seed (kg) 216 Environmental Working Group, 2011

21. GHG emission from soybean and Alfalfa production
Soybean
Alfalfa
Environmental Working Group, 2011

22. Carbon dioxide emissions due to the production of different
farm inputs and operations

23. Carbon footprint of winter wheat
Mechanical operations
Carbon cost (kg CE h-1) Winter wheat Total
Soil
preparation
Ploughing 15.2 1 15.2
Harrowing 1.7 1 1.7
Combo drilling 3.2 1 3.2
Rolling 1.7 1 1.7
Sub soiling 11.3 1 11.3
Product
application
Fertilizer spraying 0.9 3 2.7
Pesticide spraying 1.4 4 5.6
Removal
Carbon cost (kg CE h-1) Winter wheat
Harvesting Combining 33.6 0.5 16.6
Carting 1.44 1.05 1.5
Baling 19.3 0.4 8.1
Hillier et al., 2009

24. Carbon foot print of winter wheat (cont..)
Additions
C cost per kg
applied (kg CE kg-1 a.i.)
Winter
wheat
Total
Fertilizer
N 2.96 215 638.2
P 0.20 142 28.4
K 0.15 194 29.1
Crop
protection
Herbicide 6.30 1 6.30
Insecticide 0.36 1 0.36
Fungicide/
3.16 2 6.32
nematicide
Total Carbon foot print of winter wheat cost (kg CE ha-1) 764.9
Hillier et al., 2009

25. Carbon footprint of Conservation Agriculture
Tillage Irrigation
Tillage practice = diesel consumed CO2emission (3.15 kg L-1)
Irrigation = electricity consumed (kwh) CO2emission (1000 g kwh-1)
S1-Conventional practice
S2- Zero tillage in wheat (November – April), puddled transplanted rice (rainy season) and
cover crop (summer season)
S3- Conservation agriculture practices (zero tillage rice and wheat, zero tillage cowpea )
S4- Intensification of cropping system (direct seeded rice in the rainy season, potato and
maize in winter and cowpea as relay cropping in summer ) Laik et al., 2011
Equivalent CO2(kg ha-1)
Equivalent CO2(kg ha-1) required for tillage and irrigation in rice production

26. Carbon footprint of Conservation Agriculture
Tillage Irrigation
S1-conventional practice
S2- zero tillage in wheat (November – April), Puddled transplanted rice (rainy season) and
cover crop (summer season)
S3- Conservation agriculture practices (zero tillage rice and wheat, zero tillage cowpea )
S4- Intensification of cropping system (direct seeded rice in the rainy season, potato and
maize in winter and cowpea as relay cropping in summer )
Laik et al., 2011
Tillage practice=diesel consumed CO2emission(3.15kg per litre)
Irrigation=electricity consumed (kwh) CO2emission(1000g per kwh)
Equivalent CO2(kg ha-1)
Equivalent CO2(kg ha-1) required for tillage and irrigation in wheat production

27. Trends in C-based inputs and outputs in Indian agriculture
Trends in C-based inputs and outputs in Punjab
Dubey and Lal , 2009 ; Maheswarappa et al. 2011

28. Total C output (Mt) of different crops in India
Crops 1960–61 1970–71 1980–81 1990–91 2000–01 2008–09
Rice 27.66 33.77 42.90 59.43 67.98 79.32
Wheat 11.00 23.83 36.31 55.14 69.68 80.58
Coarse
23.74 30.55 29.02 32.70 31.08 39.48
cereals
Pulses 16.93 15.76 14.17 19.01 14.76 19.55
Oilseeds 9.31 12.84 12.49 24.81 24.59 37.55
Sugarcane 162.96 187.21 228.52 357.11 438.46 401.85
Cotton 1.28 1.08 1.78 2.23 2.16 5.25
Hort. Crops NA NA NA 38.62 38.62 85.89
Maheswarappa et al., 2011

29. Carbon sustainability index and total production
in Indian agriculture
Maheswarappa et al. 2011

30. Carbon foot print of different crops
Hillier et al., 2009

31. Total carbon footprint of different farming
operations
Hillier et al., 2009

32. Emission of greenhouse gases in various stages of life cycle and
carbon footprint of food items
Pathak et al., 2010

33. Emission of greenhouse gases per calorie food
consumption and their emission intensity
Pathak et al., 2010

34. Relative contribution of greenhouse gases and stages of life
cycle of Indian food items towards global warming
GHGs Lifecycle stages
Pathak et al., 2010

35. Relative contribution of various food items to GHG
emission in balanced vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets
Pathak et al., 2010

37. Why Nitrogen Foot print is so Important?
To feed our growing population, humans have disrupted the
delicately balanced natural nitrogen cycle. The turning point came in
1909, when Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch figured out how to combine
hydrogen with N2 to create ammonia, which was used to produce
fertilizer. The use of synthetic fertilizer has vastly increased
agricultural yields around the world. Today, the International
Nitrogen Initiative estimates that 40% of the global population is
dependent on crops fertilized with reactive nitrogen.
A study by University of Virginia environmental scientist James
Galloway and colleagues reported that from 1970 to 2008, world
population increased by 78% and reactive nitrogen creation grew
120%. Human have introduced additional reactive nitrogen into the
environment by expanding the production of soybeans, peanuts and
alfalfa, (leguminous) crops which host nitrogen-fixing bacteria that
convert N2 into reactive nitrogen.

38. Global N2O flux
IPCC, 2007

39. Problems of reactive nitrogen
 Air pollution produced by nitrogen gases (nitric oxide and
nitrogen dioxide).
 Acid deposition by nitrogen oxide.
 Eutrophication because of high nitrate in aquatic ecosystems.
 Loss of biological diversity, especially losses of plants adapted to
efficient use of N.
 Methemoglobinemia in infants because of increased nitrate ions
in water and food.
 Global warming because of increased emission of nitrous oxide,
a potent greenhouse gas.
 Depletion of stratospheric ozone by nitrous oxide.

40. What is N foot print
N-PRINT will be able to describe how Nr is lost to the
environment and its resulting impacts due to individual
(consumer) and collective (producers and society)
consumption behaviour and the ways in which policy can
have an effect on these losses (Leach et al., 2012).
N foot print minimize the negative effects of nitrogen on
human health and the environment and optimize the
beneficial role of nitrogen in sustainable food production

41. Average per capita country Nitrogen footprints
Leach et al., 2012

42. Calculation schematic for Nitrogen footprint for food
Leach et al., 2012

43. N footprint of Food crop production
Farm machinery and products
manufacture
Crop production
Transportation
Storage
Combustion
Cleaning residue
Methodology to calculate
Nitrogen Footprint
http://www.n-print.org

44. Nitrogen flow in the corn production process
1) The colored boxes show the available Nr at each stage of the food production process,
with their areas reflecting the magnitude of Nr;
2) The black arrows show the Nr that makes it to the next stage;
3) The start of the grey arrows is the total Nr wasted, and the end of the grey arrows is the
Nr lost to the environment;
4) The dotted arrows show the Nr recycled, which is subtracted from the Nr wasted to find
the Nr lost to the environment; and
5) The diagrams show the summation of multiple iterations of the calculations; the
iterations determine how recycled Nr is distributed throughout the system.
Leach et al., 2012

45. Reduction of C and N foot print
(i) Mitigation of GHG emissions
(ii) Increasing C sequestration
(iii) Combination of mitigation and increasing C
sequestration

46. Recommended Management Practices for reducing C
footprint
Recommended practices C sequestration potential
(Mg C ha-1 yr-1)
Conservation tillage 0.10-0.40
Winter cover crop 0.05-0.20
Soil fertility management 0.05-0.10
Elimination of summer fallow 0.05-0.20
Forages based rotation 0.05-0.20
Use of improved varieties 0.05-0.10
Organic amendments 0.20-0.30
Lal et al., 1998

47. Cumulative GHG emissions over 33 years in conventional till
versus no-till cereal cropping system
Wang and Dalal, 2005

48. Reduction of N footprint
 Apply fertilizer N at optimum rates
 Apply fertilizer N at the rate and time to meet crop/pasture
needs and development stage
 Use cover crops to utilise the residual mineral N
 Practice good crop/pasture /soil management
 Avoid surface application
 Fertilizer may be formulated with urease and/or nitrification
inhibitors
 Fertilizers form

49. Conclusions
Agriculture sector contributes significantly to global carbon
emissions from diverse sources such as product and machinery
manufacture, transport of materials and direct and indirect soil
greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon foot print estimates of emissions for individual farm
operations to quantify the relative contribution of a range of
farming operations and different crops.
Carbon and Nitrogen footprint helps growers, advisors and
policy makers to make informed decisions about management
to optimize crop production, biodiversity and carbon footprint.
N footprints help reduce Nr losses to the environment.

50. Future steps
 In India, Carbon and Nitrogen footprint of different
cropping systems—rice-wheat, rice-rice, rice-other
crops, potato-other crops, sugarcane, plantations, dry
land cropping systems, animal production systems,
poultry industry, etc. need to be quantified
 Development of suitable model for calculation of C and
N footprint, prediction and management of GHGs
 Research need for climate change and its impact on
agriculture