PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 24: Agro-Ecology
Wednesday, August 10, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Life cycle assessment for agricultuer in mid-baisn scale in Japan.
Mishima, Shin-ichiro*,1, Taniguchi, Satoru, Komada, MIchio, 1 National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
ABSTRACT- In this study, we adopted LCA to regional agricultural production, to evaluate how environmental impacts caused by nitrogen (N) and phosphate(P2O5) use will change when agricultural practices change. The system boundary was set as crop and livestock production in the Omoigawa basin as a typical paddy rice and average livestock production (except poultry) area in Japan. The function unit was set as crude protein (CP) by crop and livestock production. The present state of N and P2O5 use as fertilizers and feed, and crop and livestock production based on N and P2O5 were estimated from agricultural statistics and the results of questionnaire done by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The standard condition assumed that chemical fertilizer and manure use were according to fertilization standards. Low input and forage production condition assumed that chemical fertilizer was used along low input standard and forage was produced as much as possible. These 2 conditions were set for comparing with present condition. The standard condition reduced aquatic eutrophication, global warming, and abiotic resource use around 3/4 of the present, although there was little or no effect on terrestrial eutrophication and abiotic resource use. Low input and forage production condition had little advantage when compared with standard condition. These findings indicate that fertilizer application standards would be an effective and easy way to reduce environmental impacts in paddy farming areas. However, incidental heavy metal load to farmland was increased in standard and low input and forage production, because of its enhancement from manure with high Zn and Cu concentration. Reducing chemical fertilizer use and increasing manure use are issues of the national concern. This will reduce aquatic eutrophication and global warming, however this was offset by increased heavy metal load.
Key words: LCA, Agriculture, Fertilizer