| 1. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, et al.
(författare)
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The Zinc Paradox – a Problem for USETox-based indicators of national chemical footprint
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering the immense problem of chemical pollution worldwide, there is a great need for methods that can be used to calculate indicators of chemical footprints. Such indicators can be calculated for products and services using life cycle assessment (LCA), but also for whole nations. Indicators of natio- nal chemical footprints may include emissions within the nation’s borders only, or also emissions related to consumption (thus having a life cycle perspective). A limited number of studies (< 5) have attempted to calculate indicators of national chemical footprints using the USEtox consensus model for toxicity impact assessment in LCA. One of these is our calculation of indicators of a national chemical footprint for Sweden. Two other studies have made similar assessments for Europe. Using the national perspective of these studies enables a rough validation of USEtox results, since the indicators of national chemiABSTRACTS 62 63 cal footprint based on USEtox can be compared to non-LCA toxicity assessments done on national levels. Such validations are not possible for LCA studies of single products. Notably, the results of existing assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints, including our Swedish study, all pinpoint zinc as the dominating substance. Zinc typically accounts for >50% of the toxicity impacts for both ecotoxicity and human toxicity. For ecotoxicity, this is not unreasonable considering the notable toxicity of zinc to aquatic organisms. For human toxicity, this result is more surprising. Zinc is an essential trace element for humans that many take as a dietary supplement to prevent zinc deficiency. Non-LCA sources describe zinc as “relatively harmless” to human health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not list zinc among the top ten chemicals of major public health concern, although there are other metals on the list (mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic). These contradictory claims about zinc’s health impact seem to constitute a paradox. We present a review of existing studies assessing indicators of national chemical footprints, and of toxicological research related to zinc. We further discuss potential causes of this zinc paradox, as well as implications for assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints with USEtox.
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| 2. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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The zinc paradox – a problem for USEtox-based indicators of national chemical footprints?
- 2016
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Ingår i: SETAC Europe 22th Case Study Symposium, 20-22 September, Montpellier, France.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering the immense problem of chemical pollution worldwide, there is a great need for methods that can be used to calculate indicators of chemical footprints. Such indicators can be calculated for products and services using life cycle assessment (LCA), but also for whole nations. Indicators of national chemical footprints may include emissions within the nation’s borders only, or also emissions related to consumption (thus having a life cycle perspective). A limited number of studies ( 50% of the toxicity impacts for both ecotoxicity and human toxicity. For ecotoxicity, this is not unreasonable considering the notable toxicity of zinc to aquatic organisms. For human toxicity, this result is more surprising. Zinc is an essential trace element for humans that many take as a dietary supplement to prevent zinc deficiency. Non-LCA sources describe zinc as “relatively harmless” to human health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not list zinc among the top ten chemicals of major public health concern, although there are other metals on the list (mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic). These contradictory claims about zinc’s health impact seem to constitute a paradox. We present a review of existing studies assessing indicators of national chemical footprints, and of toxicological research related to zinc. We further discuss potential causes of this zinc paradox, as well as implications for assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints with USEtox.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Bengtsson, Janne, et al.
(författare)
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Framtidens landsbygdsprogram och olika utmaningar
- 2017
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Ingår i: Boken "Så här ligger landet-tankar om landsbygdsprogram och landsbygdsutveckling", Jordbruksverket, Jönköping. ; , s. 171-178
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 5. |
- Bergez, J-E, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating agri-environmental indicators, ecosystem services assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of agriculture.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X. ; 141
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agriculture’s primary function is the production of food, feed, fibre and fuel for the fast-growing world population. However, it also affects human health and ecosystem integrity. Policymakers make policies in order to avoid harmful impacts. How to assess such policies is a challenge. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to help evaluate the impacts of agricultural policies on the environment. Our framework represents the global system as four subsystems and their interactions. These four components are the cells of a 2 by 2 matrix [Agriculture, Rest of the word]; [Socio-eco system, Ecological system]. We then developed a set of indicators for environmental issues and positioned these issues in the framework. To assess these issues, we used four well-known existing approaches: Life Cycle Assessment, Ecosystem Services Analysis, Yield Gap Analysis and Agro-Environmental Indicators. Using these four approaches together provided a more holistic view of the impacts of a given policy on the system. We then applied our framework on existing cover crop policies using an extensive literature survey and analysing the different environmental issues mobilised by the four assessment approaches. This demonstration case shows that our framework may be of help for a full systemic assessment. Despite their differences (aims, scales, standardization, data requirements, etc.), it is possible and profitable to use the four approaches together. This is a significant step forward, though more work is needed to produce a genuinely operational tool.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Cederberg, Christel, et al.
(författare)
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An LCA researcher's wish list-data and emission models needed to improve LCA studies of animal production.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 7:Suppl 2, s. 212-219
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The last decade has seen an increase in environmental systems analysis of livestock production, resulting in a significant number of studies with a holistic approach often based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The growing public interest in global warming has added to this development; guidelines for carbon footprint (CF) accounting have been developed, including for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting of animal products. Here we give an overview of methods for estimating GHG emissions, with emphasis on nitrous oxide, methane and carbon from land use change, presently used in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We discuss where methods and data availability for GHGs and nitrogen (N) compounds most urgently need to be improved in order to produce more accurate environmental assessments of livestock production. We conclude that the top priority is to improve models for N fluxes and emissions from soils and to implement soil carbon change models in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We also point at the need for more farm data and studies measuring emissions from soils, manure and livestock in developing countries.
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| 11. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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An LCA researcher's wish list - data and emission models needed to improve LCA studies of animal production
- 2013
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Ingår i: Animal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 7:(suppl. 2), s. 212-219
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The last decade has seen an increase in environmental systems analysis of livestock production, resulting in a significant number of studies with a holistic approach often based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The growing public interest in global warming has added to this development; guidelines for carbon footprint (CF) accounting have been developed, including for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting of animal products. Here we give an overview of methods for estimating GHG emissions, with emphasis on nitrous oxide, methane and carbon from land use change, presently used in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We discuss where methods and data availability for GHGs and nitrogen (N) compounds most urgently need to be improved in order to produce more accurate environmental assessments of livestock production. We conclude that the top priority is to improve models for N fluxes and emissions from soils and to implement soil carbon change models in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We also point at the need for more farm data and studies measuring emissions from soils, manure and livestock in developing countries.
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| 12. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Betande djur kan inte rädda klimatet
- 2013
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Ingår i: Land Lantbruk. - 2002-5599 .- 2002-5580.
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 13. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond the borders – burdens of Swedish food consumption due to agrochemicals, greenhouse gases and land-use change
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 214, s. 644-652
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Authors Sweden's environmental policy aims to solve domestic environmental problems without increasing environmental and health impacts overseas. Realizing this aim requires an indicator system with a consumption-based (or “footprint”) perspective that captures both local and global impacts and their development over time. In this paper, we present a set of novel footprint indicators to measure environmental pressures from Swedish food consumption. The indicators are calculated by combining data and statistics on agrochemicals and deforestation emissions with EXIOBASE3, a global Multi-Regional Input Output (MRIO) database with a unique and high level of product detail across countries. We estimate the use of pesticides and antimicrobial veterinary medicines associated with current Swedish food consumption and compare those footprint indicators with the EU-28. Carbon emissions from deforestation are calculated with a land balance model and included in the overall carbon footprint of food. We find that Sweden, with its large reliance of food imports, exert a significant agro-chemical and climate footprint overseas, mainly in the EU and Latin America. We point to a need for better data and statistics on the use of pesticides, veterinary medicines and agrochemicals residuals (especially in developing countries) as well as improved spatial data on agricultural activity to further reduce uncertainty in the environmental footprint of Swedish food consumption.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Ekonomi och ekosystemtjänster i gräsbaserad mjölk- och nötköttsproduktion
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- En stor del av den svenska jordbruksmarken utgörs av gräsmarker som används till foderproduktion åt nötkreatur. Denna markanvändning är mycket viktig för leveransen av en rad betydelsefulla ekosystemtjänster till samhället och för bevarandet av den biologiska mång-falden. Pågående igenväxningen av gräsmarker pga. olönsamhet, i synnerhet naturbetes-marker, hotar dessa tjänster och är en orsak till att miljömålet ”Ett varierat odlingslandskap” inte beräknas nås till 2020. Naturvårdsverkets bedömning är att det behövs starkare incitament för djurägare att hålla djur på naturbetesmarker. Även hos allmänheten finns en betalnings-vilja för att bevara naturbetesmarkerna. Projektet har, i dialog med lantbrukare, analyserat ekonomi och ekosystemtjänster i gräsbase-rade produktionssystem för nötkreatur, med bete i fokus. Studien inkluderar några möjliga framtida system för mjölkproduktion där intensiteten i avkastning per ko är lägre än dagens och istället inriktad på en kombinerad produktion av mjölk och kött. Ekonomisk lönsamhet, utan tillägg av några jordbruksstöd, har beräknats för fem olika eko-logiska typgårdar, fyra med mjölkproduktion och en med dikoproduktion. Typgården ”inten-siv” motsvarar dagens ekologiska produktion framräknad till år 2030 (10 ton mjölk/ko och år), medan typgårdarna ”gräs” producerar på 6, 7 respektive 8 ton mjölk per ko och år med stor andel grovfoder och bete i foderstaterna. Alla ungdjur (utöver rekrytering) föds upp till slakt på gården och gårdens areal motsvaras av djurens behov av grovfoder och spannmål. Produktionskalkyler för olika storlek på naturbetesmarker togs fram i projektet. Mjölkproduktionen visade ett positivt ekonomiskt resultat (utan tillägg av några jordbruks-stöd) för alla typgårdar, medan all köttproduktion gick med förlust. Det sammanlagda netto-resultatet för mjölk och kött var positivt för de två typgårdarna ”intensiv” och ”gräs 8 ton” medan det var negativt för övriga; särskilt för dikogården var resultatet kraftigt negativt. Den ekonomiska lönsamheten påverkades starkt av skiftesstorlek pga. stora skillnader i bruknings-kostnader. För att nå lönsamhet krävs det högre ersättningar för naturbetesmarker och för brukandet av små åker- och betesskiften än vad dagens jordbruksstöd ger. Typgården ”diko”, där naturbetesmarker utgjorde det mesta av betet, skulle t.ex. behöva en ersättning motsva-rande 6000 kronor per hektar för dessa marker för att få lönsamhet. Analysen av olika stödtypers inverkan visar att ett omkretsbaserat ”kantstöd”, istället för dagens arealbaserade, kan gynna brukning av hotade gräsmarker och de ekosystemtjänster de levererar. För att bevara jordbrukets viktiga ekosystemtjänster menar vi att det behövs en diskussion kring hur de totala stödbeloppen till lantbruket fördelas mellan de båda ytterligheterna intensivt odlad åkermark med stora skiften och naturbetesmarker som ofta utgörs av små skiften med höga skötselkostnader per hektar. Leveransen av reglerande och kulturella eko-systemtjänster skiljer sig radikalt åt mellan dessa två ytterligheter av markanvändning. Brister i tillgängligt kunskaps- och dataunderlag för gräsmarker behöver åtgärdas för att säkerställa att beräkningar av ersättningar fördelas rätt mellan olika markanvändning och gynnar gräs-markernas ekosystemtjänster. Summary A large share of Swedish agricultural land is grasslands used for cattle production. These grasslands deliver a range of important ecosystem services and they are crucial for biodiver-sity conservation. The maintenance of grasslands, especially permanent pastures, are threat-ened by a decrease in the number of grazing cattle and lack of profitability for farmers with small-scale fields which leads to land abandonment and regrowth of forest. This is one reason why the environmental objective "A varied agricultural landscape" is not expected to be reached by 2020. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency there is a need of stronger incentives to farmers to keep grazing animals. There is also a public willingness to pay for conservation of permanent pastureland. The project has, in dialogue with farmers, analyzed the economy and ecosystem services in grass-based cattle production systems, with focus on grazing. The study includes scenarios for future milk production systems where the intensity of yield per cow is lower than today; instead milk production is focused on a combination of both milk and meat. Economic profitability, without any public support through the EU Farm Policy (CAP), was calculated for five modelled organic cattle farms, four with milk production and one with dedicated beef production. The most intensive dairy farm corresponded to current organic production projected at year 2030 (thus yielding 10 ton of milk/cow and year), while the "grass" farms produce 6, 7 and 8 ton of milk per cow and year respectively in 2030. In these grass scenarios, dairy cows´ feed rations had larger proportion of roughage and pasture. All young cattle (excl. replacement heifers) were bred at the farm for meat production and the acreage of the farm was matched by the animals’ need for pasture, roughage and grain. Cost estimates for pastureland were calculated based on data collected in the project. Milk production showed a positive economic result without public support through CAP, regardless of farm type and milk intensity, while all meat production yielded negative result. The total farm net income for milk and meat was positive for the intensive dairy farm and the modelled grass dairy farm producing 8 ton milk/cow and year, while it was negative for the other farm types. The dedicated beef farm showed a strong negative result. Economic profitability was strongly influenced by field size; the sensitivity analysis found this factor highly important for differences in operating costs. In order to reach profitability in grass-based cattle production, pastureland and small-scale fields need to be better compensated than present distribution of farm income support in the CAP. In order to maintain important ecosystem services in agriculture, a broad discussion is needed on how farm income support should be distributed between different uses of land, with inten-sively farmed cropland on large fields on one side and permanent pastureland on small fields (with high operating costs per hectare) on the other. The delivery of regulating and cultural ecosystem services differs significantly between these two very different types of land use. The project has identified several data gaps regarding grasslands, especially pasture, which needs to be addressed to ensure that cost-based payments and payments for ecosystem services for different land use are based on realistic numbers.
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| 16. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959
(författare)
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Emissions and carbon footprint
- 2014
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Ingår i: Climate change and primary industries : Impacts, adaptation and mitigation in the Nordic countries. - 9789289328333 ; , s. 35-48
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Gräsmarkernas användning i Sverige
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sammanfattning I denna rapport redovisas beräkningar och skattningar för hur landets gräsmarker, vilka omfattar slåtter- och betesvallar på åkermark samt naturbetesmarker, nyttjas och används av landets gräsätande tamdjur. Eftersom denna typ av estimat inte har gjorts tidigare är rapportens fokus inriktat på att redovisa metoder och data. Arbetet har utförts genom att: 1) inventera uppgifter om foderstater och baserat på dessa, skatta förbrukningen av vallfoder (ensilage, hösilage, hö) samt bete för olika kategorier av nötkreatur, får och hästar; 2) beräkna gräsmarkernas produktion samt 3) utifrån punkt 1 och 2 beräkna vilka arealer slåtter-och betesvallar samt naturbetesmarker de gräsätande tamdjuren behöver och jämföra dessa estimat med tillgängliga arealer. Arealskattningarna tar även hänsyn till foderförluster och spill i hela foderkedjan. Dataunderlaget baseras så långt det är möjligt på officiell statistik från SCB och Jordbruks-verket samt forskningsrapporter. Vid behov har expertkunskap tillfrågats och vid dataluckor har antaganden fått göras, ofta i diskussion med experter inom rådgivning. All indata från den officiella statistiken har beräknats som ett medelvärde för de tre åren 2015, 2016 och 2017. För statistik som inte redovisas årligen har de senast publicerade uppgifterna använts. Beräkningarna är företrädesvis utförda på länsnivå där sådana uppgifter har funnits att tillgå (djurantal, arealer, skördenivåer). Dessa länsvisa beräkningar har sedan aggregerats till totala resultat för landet samt delats upp på regionerna Syd, Väst, Öst, Mellan och Norr. Nötkreaturens, fårens och hästarnas årliga konsumtion av ensilage, hösilage och hö från vallar skattas till totalt cirka 3,1 miljoner ton torrsubstans och betesintaget till ca 1,5 miljoner ton torrsubstans. Mjölkproduktionen är den största konsumenten av skördat vallfoder, motsvarande nästan hälften. Nötkreaturen i köttproduktionen står i gengäld för nästan hälften av betesintaget. Hästsektorn är en betydande konsument av vallfoder och hästarnas intag av hösilage och hö är i samma storleksordning som konsumtionen inom nötköttssektorn. En jämförelse av djurens totala konsumtion av vallfoder inklusive foderförluster och spill, med produktionen på tillgänglig areal visar att dessa är i hyfsad balans. Av drygt 1 miljon hektar vall på åker beräknas mjölksektorn nyttja cirka 40 % medan häst- och nötköttssektorn står för runt 30 % respektive 25 % av användningen. Naturbetesmarkernas knappt 450 000 ha nyttjas framförallt av djur i nötköttsproduktionen, uppskattningsvis cirka 70 % av arealen. Vallar och betesmarker växer på hälften av Sveriges jordbruksmark och har stor betydelse för landsbygdens försörjning, särskilt i mellan- och skogsbygd. Denna markanvändning är viktig för landets livsmedelsförsörjning samt en rad andra ekosystemtjänster som t ex kolinlagring i mark, pollinering, rekreation och naturupplevelser samt för bevarandet av biologisk mångfald i odlingslandskap. Trots dessa flerfaldiga nyttor är gräsmarkerna och användningen av deras biomassaproduktion på många sätt bristfälligt undersökta inom statistik och forskning. Denna rapport bidrar till en översikt om vilka data och uppgifter som behöver tas fram för att få ett bättre kunskapsunderlag för planering och utveckling av gräsmarkernas framtida användning. Summary This report describes calculations and estimates for how Sweden´s grasslands, a land use including temporary grasslands (i.e. leys in crop rotations on arable land) and pastures on semi-natural grasslands, are used by cattle, horses and sheep. The focus of the report is a description of methods and data used in the calculations. The main method has been to: 1) collect data on feed rations and based on these, calculate the consumption of silage, hay and pasture for different categories of cattle, horses and sheep; 2) estimate the biomass production from different types of grasslands and 3) based on 1 and 2, calculate the acreages of temporary grasslands and pastures that are needed by the livestock and compare these estimates with available areas in the statistics. The estimates of needed acreages also consider waste and losses in the overall fodder chain. Input data are based on official statistics from Sweden Statistics, Board of Agriculture and research literature. In case of data gaps, assumptions have been made, often in discussion with expertise from advisory service and/or research. The calculations are made as a yearly average of the three years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Some data needed were not reported yearly, here the latest available data have been used. The calculations are foremost done at county level and then aggregated at national level, and also also divided between the five regions South, West, East, Mid and North. The yearly consumption of biomass from the grasslands in Swedish agriculture is estimated at approximately 3.1 million tons dry matter of silage and hay, and around 1.5 million tons dry matter of pasture. Dairy production is the largest consumer of silage and hay, almost half of total. Cattle in the beef production consume almost half of the pasture biomass. The horse sector is a significant consumer of silage and hay, in the same magnitude as the beef sector. A comparison of the animals´ total consumption of silage, hay and pasture, including losses and waste in the fodder chain, with the biomass yields from the grasslands shows that those two are in reasonable balance. From a total area of roughly one million hectares temporary grasslands on arable land, it is estimated that the dairy sector uses 40 % while the horse- and beef sector use 30 % and 25 % respectively. The semi-natural grasslands of close to 450 000 hectares are grazed and foremost used by beef cattle, approximately 70% of this area. Grasslands in forms of temporary leys and semi-natural pastures cover half of Sweden´s agricultural land, and are very important for the rural economy, especially in regions close to forest areas (inland and north). This land use is important for food supply and other ecosystem services such carbon sequestration, pollination, recreation and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but is inadequately covered in statistics and research. This report contributes to an overview of what data that are needed to improve our understanding and knowledge of grasslands in Sweden.
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| 19. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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In defence of organic food Comment
- 2020
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Ingår i: New Scientist. - 0262-4079. ; 245:3274, s. 25-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 20. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Including Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Carbon Footprint of Brazilian Beef
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 45:5, s. 1773-1779
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effects of land use changes are starting to be included in estimates of life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so-called carbon footprints (CFs), from food production. Their omission can lead to serious underestimates, particularly for meat. Here we estimate emissions from the conversion of forest to pasture in the Legal Amazon Region (LAR) of Brazil and present a model to distribute the emissions from deforestation over products and time subsequent to the land use change. Expansion of cattle ranching for beef production is a major cause of deforestation in the LAR. The carbon footprint of beef produced on newly deforested land is estimated at more than 700 kg CO2-equivalents per kg carcass weight if direct land use emissions are annualized over 20 years. This is orders of magnitude larger than the figure for beef production on established pasture on non-deforested land. While Brazilian beef exports have originated mainly from areas outside the LAR, i.e. from regions not subject to recent deforestation, we argue that increased production for export has been the key driver of the pasture expansion and deforestation in the LAR during the past decade and this should be reflected in the carbon footprint attributed to beef exports. We conclude that carbon footprint standards must include the more extended effects of land use changes to avoid giving misleading information to policy makers, retailers, and consumers.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Jordbrukets ekosystemtjänster. Från koncept till gårdsbaserade indikatorer
- 2016
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ekosystemtjänster kan definieras som de nyttigheter, i vid bemärkelse, som naturensekosystem ger oss människor. Det stora forskningsprojektet Millennium EcosystemAssessment som initierades av FN är en milstolpe som satte begreppet ekosystemtjänsterpå den politiska agendan på tidigt 2000-tal. Det markerar också startpunkten för en snabbtexpanderande vetenskaplig verksamhet inom området. Syftet med föreliggande rapport äratt beskriva jordbrukets ekosystemtjänster och undersöka vilka existerande förslag påindikatorer för ekosystemtjänster som finns i den vetenskapliga litteraturen och som kanvara användbara på gårdsnivå där besluten om produktion och markanvändning tas.Denna rapport, som baseras på en litteraturgenomgång genomförd i början av 2015, geren kort introduktion till begreppet ekosystemtjänster med utgångspunkt från definitioner ilitteraturen och utvecklingen inom området. Den skiftande terminologin inom området tasupp liksom olika begrepp och steg som är nödvändiga vid en kvantifiering och värderingav ekosystemtjänster. Förståelse om dessa begrepp är viktig vid tolkning av befintligaindikatorer såväl som vid utveckling av nya. Rapporten ger exempel från litteraturenpå indikatorer för ekosystemtjänster och konstaterar att dessa företrädesvis är utveckladeför större skalor som t ex landskap, region eller kontinent. Indikatorer som är framtagnaför ekosystemtjänster på gårdsnivå förekommer mindre ofta i litteraturen.Rapporten diskuterar möjligheter och svårigheter kopplade till att utveckla och användaindikatorer för ekosystemtjänster på gårdsnivå och konstaterar att tillgången på data är enutmaning men att det finns goda möjligheter att ytterligare utveckla indikatorer som kanvara meningsfulla på gården. Vissa ekosystemtjänster har dock större relevans förlandskapsnivån än för gårdsnivån och en utveckling av indikatorer för dessa ekosystemtjänsterutgör en särskild utmaning eftersom systemgränserna är svårdefinierade.Indikatorer för ekosystemtjänster kan dels användas inom gården som underlag för attfölja upp olika åtgärder, dels för att kommunicera kring gårdens produktion av olikaekosystemtjänster till aktörer i produktkedjan eller gentemot myndigheter ochbeslutsfattare. Vid utveckling av indikatorer för ekosystemtjänster i jordbruket behöverindikatorernas syfte, användningsområden och intressenternas behov klargöras ochbeaktas. När ekosystemtjänster bedöms är det viktigt att involvera olika intressenter, inteminst när man behöver bedöma avvägningar mellan olika typer av ekosystemtjänstervilket kan kräva engagemang och beslut på flera olika samhällsnivåer
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959
(författare)
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Kombinerat mjölk och nötkött-effekter av lågintensiv ekologisk nötkreatursproduktion på markanvändning, miljö och ekosystemtjänster
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Forage Conference 2017, Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för växtproduktionsekologi. - 1653-5375. - 9789157694638 ; :Rapport nr 22, s. 102-103
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Här beskrivs två pågående forskningsprojekt som utvärderar framtida miljömässiga och ekonomiska skillnader mellan en nötsektor bestående av gräsbaserad och kombinerad ekologisk mjölk- och köttproduktion och en sektor av konventionell, specialiserad mjölk samt köttproduktion baserade på dikor. Vidare analyseras hur ekonomi och ekosystemtjänster kopplar till olika markanvändning och produktion, samt hur olika miljöersättningar kan designas för att främja produktion som levererar mat i form av mjölk och kött såväl som andra ekosystemtjänster som är viktiga för samhället
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| 25. |
- Cederberg, Christel, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of milk production : A comparison of conventional and organic farming
- 2000
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 8:1, s. 49-60
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An LCA was performed on organic and conventional milk production at the farm level in Sweden. In the study, special focus was aimed at substance flows in concentrate feed production and nutrient flows on the farms. The different feeding strategies in the two forms of production, influence several impact categories. The import of feed by conventional dairy farms often leads to a substantial input of phosphorus and nitrogen. Organic milk production is a way to reduce pesticide use and mineral surplus in agriculture but this production form also requires substantially more farmland than conventional production. For Swedish conditions, however, a large use of grassland for grazing ruminants is regarded positively since this type of arable land use promotes the domestic environmental goals of biodiversity and aesthetic values.
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| 26. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959
(författare)
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Primary Production/Meat and the Environment
- 2014
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Ingår i: Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences. - 9780123847317 ; , s. 502-507
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The demand for animal products is predicted to double by 2050 and already today, the global livestock sector is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to some of the most urgent environmental problems. In this article, those impacts are discussed that emphasize on land use change resulting in declining biodiversity and emissions of carbon, human interference in the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle, largely associated with nutrient fluxes and losses from feed cultivation and manure handling, greenhouse gas emissions, and use of chemicals. There is an urgent need for improving animal and crop production as well as manure management in the life cycle of animal products. Consumption of animal products also needs to be addressed, because the mitigation potential for technological improvements probably is not sufficient to meet future climate targets.
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| 27. |
- Cederberg, Christel, et al.
(författare)
-
Remissvar till Näringsdepartementet - Förändrad markanvändning kan skapa bieffekter
- 2013
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Detta brief baserar sig på ett remissvar till Näringsdepartementet. Remissvaret i februari 2013 kom som följd av Näringsdepartementets inbjudan till remiss på Europeiska kommissionens förslag till Europaparlamentets och rådets direktiv om ändringar av direktiv 98/70/EG om kvaliteten på bensin och dieselbränslen och om ändring av direktiv 2009/28/EG om främjande av användning av energi från förnybara energikällor. Svaret hanterar främst förslaget utifrån hur biodrivmedelsproduktion påverkar markanvändning både direkt och indirekt genom s.k “Indirect Land Use Change” (ILUC).
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Cederberg, Christel, 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Trends in greenhouse gas emissions from consumption and production of animal food products - implications for long-term climate targets
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 7:2, s. 330-340
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To analyse trends in greenhouse (GHG) emissions from production and consumption of animal products in Sweden, life-cycle emissions were calculated for the average production of pork, chicken meat, beef, dairy and eggs in 1990 and 2005. The calculated average emissions were used together with food consumption statistics and literature data on imported products to estimate trends in per capita emissions from animal food consumption. Total life cycle emissions from the Swedish livestock production were around 8.5 Mt carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) in 1990 and emissions decreased to 7.3 Mt CO2e in 2005 (14% reduction). Around two-thirds of the emission cut was explained by more efficient production (less GHG emission per product unit) and one third was due to a reduced animal production. The average GHG emissions per product unit until the farm-gate were reduced by 20% for dairy, 15% for pork and 23% for chicken meat, unchanged for eggs and increased by 10% for beef. A larger share of the average beef was produced from suckler cows in cow-calf systems in 2005 due to the decreasing dairy cow herd, which explains the increased emissions for the average beef in 2005. The overall emissions cuts from the livestock sector were a result of several measures taken in farm production, for example increased dairy yield per cow, lowered use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers in grasslands, reduced losses of ammonia from manure and a switch to biofuels for heating in chicken houses.In contrast to production, total GHG emissions from the Swedish consumption of animal products increased by around 22% between 1990 and 2005. This was explained by strong growth in meat consumption based mainly on imports, where growth in beef consumption especially was responsible for most emission increase over the 15-year period. Swedish GHG emissions caused by consumption of animal products reached around 1.1 tonnes CO2e per capita in 2005.The emission cuts necessary for meeting a global temperature-increase target of 2 degrees might imply a severe constraint on the long-term global consumption of animal food. Due to the relatively limited potential for reducing food-related emissions by higher productivity and technological means, structural changes in food consumption towards less emission intensive food might be required for meeting the 2-degree target.
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| 30. |
- De Boer, I.J.M., et al.
(författare)
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Greenhouse gas mitigation in animal production : Towards an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 3:5, s. 423-431
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The animal food chain contributes significantly to emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). We explored studies that addressed options to mitigate GHG emissions in the animal production chain and concluded that most studies focused on production systems in developed countries and on a single GHG. They did not account for the complex interrelated effects on other GHGs or their relation with other aspects of sustainability, such as eutrophication, animal welfare, land use or food security. Current decisions on GHG mitigation in animal production, therefore, are hindered by the complexity and uncertainty of the combined effect of GHG mitigation options on climate change and their relation with other aspects of sustainability. There is an urgent need to integrate simulation models at animal, crop and farm level with a consequential life cycle sustainability assessment to gain insight into the multidimensional and sometimes conflicting consequences of GHG mitigation options. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Estimating the EU biogas potential from manure and crop residues — A spatial analysis
- 2015
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Anaerobic fermentation of agricultural wastes such as crop residues and animal manure, producing biogas, is an example of an advanced biofuel that can contribute to the EU target of a minimum 10% of transport fuels from renewable sources in 2020. Producing biogas from residues has received increasing attention following the debate on the impact conventional biofuel production has on food prices, poverty and land-use change. The EU, as well as major producers of biogas such as Germany and Italy, are currently revising their policy framework to incentivize the sourcing of biogas substrates from waste streams.Given these developments it is important to improve our understanding of how large the potential is for producing biogas and biomethane from agricultural wastes in the EU, how that potential is distributed across member states, and what the main limitations to this potential are. Previous studies on the potential for producing biogas from agricultural wastes in the EU, however, have either been local cases studies that account for a host of detailed economic and technical constraints, an approach that is almost impossible to scale up to the EU level, or top-down assessments of gross substrate potentials that do not account for any of the technical and economic limitations specific to biogas production.In this report we present a spatially explicit approach for estimating the availability of agricultural wastes - crop residues and animal manure - across the EU, which also allows for an analysis of how key economic and technical constraints such as minimum viable plant size, maximum collection distances for substrates, and substrate composition affects the total potential for biogas production.Our main results from this analysis can be summarized as follows:* Total annually available biogas substrates from agricultural wastes in the EU28 amounts to roughly 80 million tonnes of crop residues (dry matter) and 110 million tonnes (dry matter) of animal manure.* In our base case scenario, three quarters of the manure and a fifth of the crop residues are technically and economically exploitable for biogas production, yielding a total biogas potential from agricultural wastes of almost 700 PJ (HHV) per year.* Animal production and arable farming are spatially highly segregated in some parts of the EU28. This leads to some areas having considerable surpluses of either dry, carbon-rich crop residues or nitrogen-rich manures which cannot be fully utilized due to technical constraints on dry matter content and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. There are, however, potential ways to relax these constraints, for example using dry fermentation technology or adding wet, carbon-rich co-substrates, such as energy crops.* If we assume a larger minimum viable biogas plant size of 8 MW, typical if the biogas is to be upgraded to vehicle fuel quality, the potential decreases by about a quarter. However, the base case potential can still be reached or even surpassed under this constraint if one allows for a somewhat increased collection radius for substrates or if the constraint on maximum dry matter content is relaxed.
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| 33. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Is the nitrogen footprint fit for purpose? An assessment of models and proposed uses
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 240, s. 198-208
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The nitrogen footprint has been proposed as an environmental indicator to quantify and highlight how individuals, organizations, or countries contribute to nitrogen pollution. While some footprint indicators have been successful in raising awareness of environmental pressures among the public and policy-makers, they have also attracted criticism from members of the life cycle assessment (LCA) community who find some footprints confusing and misleading as they measure substance and energy flows without considering their environmental impacts. However, there are also legitimate reasons to defend footprints as a useful class of indicators despite their incompatibility with LCA principles. Here, in light of this previous research and debate, we critically assess models and proposed uses for the nitrogen footprint, and explore options for further development. As the nitrogen footprint merely quantifies gross nitrogen emissions irrespective of time, location, and chemical form, it is a crude proxy of environmental and health impacts compared to other, more sophisticated environmental impact indicators. However, developing the nitrogen footprint toward LCA-compatible impact assessment would imply more uncertainty, more complexity, and more work. Furthermore, we emphasize that impact assessment has an unavoidable subjective dimension that should be recognized in any development toward impact assessment. We argue that the nitrogen footprint in its present form is already fit for some purposes, and therefore further development towards impact assessment may be unnecessary or even undesirable. For some uses it seems more important that the footprint has a clear physical meaning. We conclude that the best way forward for the nitrogen footprint depends crucially on what story it is used to tell.
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| 34. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Nitrogen flows on organic and conventional dairy farms: a comparison of three indicators
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1385-1314 .- 1573-0867. ; 110:1, s. 25-38
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper analyzes nitrogen (N) flows on organic and conventional dairy farms in Sweden, and compares three indicators for the N pollution associated with the milk: (1) the farm-gate N surplus, (2) the chain N surplus, and (3) the N footprint. We find that, compared to indicators based on N surplus, the N footprint is a more understandable indicator for the N pollution associated with a product. However, the N footprint is not a replacement for the often-used farm-gate N surplus per unit area, since the two indicators give different information. An uncertainty analysis shows that, despite the large dataset, 1566 conventional and 283 organic farms, there is substantial uncertainty in the indicator values, of which a large part is due to possible bias in estimates of biological N fixation (BNF). Hence, although the best estimate is that conventional milk has 10–20% higher indicator values than organic, it is conceivable that improved estimates of BNF will change that conclusion. All three indicators simplify reality by aggregating N flows over time and space, and of different chemical forms. Thus, they hide many complexities with environmental relevance, which means that they can be misleading for decision-makers. This motivates further research on the relation between N surpluses and N footprints, and actual environmental damages.
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| 35. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Subnational nutrient budgets to monitor environmental risks in EU agriculture: calculating phosphorus budgets for 243 EU28 regions using public data
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-0867 .- 1385-1314. ; 117:2, s. 199-213
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents a method to estimate soil surface phosphorus (P) budgets for 243 subnational regions in EU28. This is about the maximum spatial resolution that can be achieved mainly using international datasets that are regularly updated. Similar subnational budgets could be established for nitrogen (N) with some additions to this method. Increasing the spatial resolution from national to subnational is one way to address the well-known issue that national nutrient budgets sometimes mask considerable heterogeneity, i.e., regional surpluses and deficits that are not seen in national averages. Our results indeed show how a rich structure of different P budgets emerges when moving from national to subnational level. Another approach is to exclude the most extensively managed areas from the budgets, to better represent the surplus in intensive agriculture areas. Here, we show that both approaches are useful and sometimes important as they can affect P surplus estimates by about 10 kg P ha− 1 y− 1 or more. The choice of spatial resolution is a trade-off between accuracy and precision. National budgets are the most accurate thanks to good data coverage, but they sometimes fail to identify considerable P surpluses and deficits at subnational level. Increasing the precision (spatial resolution) gradually reveals this heterogeneity but comes at the cost of growing data gaps, which we discuss in detail. These subnational P surpluses represent a middle ground which may prove useful as one indicator among others to monitor the development of environmental risks and resource problems over time.
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| 36. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
The nitrogen footprint - environmentally relevant?
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Conference proceedings, Innovative solutions for sustainable management of nitrogen. - 9788793398825 ; , s. 90-
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background and aimsThe nitrogen (N) footprint has been proposed as a tool to highlight and quantify contributions to N-related damages to the environment and to human health [1, 2]. It may succeed in raising awareness of consumers and decision-makers, not least due to its seeming simplicity and its catchy name, familiar from siblings like the ecological, carbon, and water footprints.However, the family of footprints has been called a “minefield” [3] since their definitions have been incoherent and inexact, leaving room for confusion and contradictions. Therefore, a task force of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has proposed some common ground rules for footprints [4], for example a set of four criteria for footprints: (1) transparent documentation, (2) accurate terminology, (3) directional consistency, and (4) environmental relevance. Here, we consider how well the N footprint lives up to the latter two of these.MethodThe two criteria are defined as follows [3]. Environmental relevance is that the footprint units have “environmental equivalence”, i.e., that each unit of footprint is considered equally harmful. Directional consistency is when “a smaller value is always preferable to a higher”. The N footprint is defined [1] as “the total amount of Nr [reactive N, all other forms than N2] released to the environment as a result of an entity's resource consumption”. We evaluated how well the N footprint satisifes the two criteria by examining examples from agriculture.The type and amount of damage an Nr molecule causes on its path through the N cascade depends on where, when, and in what chemical form it is released. For example, one product may be heavy in gaseous ammonia (NH3) emissions, and another in leached nitrate (NO3-). Local conditions then determine how the Nr is transformed, deposited, taken up by plants, etc, and in turn how the environment is affected, for example, whether critical loads are exceeded. This illustrates that a given amount of Nr release may cause very different combinations of acidification, eutrophication, climate change, etc. Furthermore, the relative importance of these damages is not set in stone, but ultimately a question of values.Results and conclusionsIn summary, we suggest that the N footprint definition does not guarantee environmental relevance or directional consistency. Two products can have equal footprints but qualitatively different environmental effects. Which product to prefer then depends both on situation-specific details and the values held by the footprint user. We will present examples to illustrate these problems, and discuss possibilities to further develop the N footprint to address them.
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| 37. |
- Einarsson, Rasmus, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
The nitrogen footprint of Swedish food consumption
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9318 .- 1748-9326. ; 17:10
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Food systems are major drivers of environmental and health impacts. While the emissions and other pressures causing these impacts mainly occur in primary agricultural production, the deeper causes and much of the mitigation potential are distributed throughout food systems, including dietary choices and multiple inefficiencies in the whole chain from agricultural production to consumption and waste management. An environmental indicator based on this systems perspective is the nitrogen (N) footprint, defined as the emissions of reactive N due to the consumption of an individual or other entity. Here, we present a method to estimate the N footprint of Swedish food consumption, using a detailed inventory of agricultural production, food and feed processing, food waste, waste management, and wastewater treatment. Limitations of data sources and methods are discussed in detail. The estimated Swedish food N footprint is 12.1 kg N capita(-1) yr(-1), of which 42% is emitted in Swedish production, 38% in production abroad, 1% in consumer waste management, and 19% in wastewater treatment. Animal food products account for 81% of the food N footprint and 70% of the protein intake. Average protein intake exceeds nutritional requirements by about 60%, which suggests that at least 35% reduction of food-related reactive N emissions could be achieved through dietary change. Of the apparent food N consumption (6.9 kg N capita(-1) yr(-1)), about 22% is food waste N (1.5 kg N capita(-1) yr(-1)). We estimate that 76% of food waste N is unavoidable (bones and other parts not commonly eaten). Avoidable food waste is about 7% of the edible food supply, implying that a hypothetical complete elimination of food waste would reduce emissions by about 7%. In summary, we present a detailed method, discuss its limitations, and demonstrate possible uses of the N footprint as a complement to existing territorial and sectoral environmental indicators.
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| 38. |
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| 39. |
- Englund, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
-
Beneficial land-use change in Europe : deployment scenarios for multifunctional riparian buffers and windbreaks
- 2024
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The land sector needs to increase biomass production to meet multiple demands while reducing negative land use impacts and transitioning from being a source to being a sink of carbon. The new Common Agricultural Policy of the EU (CAP) steers towards a more needs-based, targeted approach to addressing multiple environmental and climatic objectives, in coherence with other EU policies. In relation to this, new schemes are developed to offer farmers direct payments to adapt practices beneficial for climate, water, soil, air and biodiversity. Multifunctional biomass production systems have potential to reduce environmental impacts from agriculture while maintaining or increasing biomass production for the bioeconomy across Europe. Here, we present the first attempt to model the deployment of two such systems, riparian buffers and windbreaks, across >81.000 landscapes in Europe (EU27 + UK), aiming to quantify the resulting ecosystem services and environmental benefits, considering three deployment scenarios with different incentives for implementation. We found that these multifunctional biomass production systems can reduce N emissions to water and soil loss by wind erosion, respectively, down to a “low” impact level all over Europe, while simultaneously providing substantial environmental co-benefits, using less than 1% of the area under annual crops in the EU. The GHG emissions savings of utilizing the biomass produced in these systems for replacing fossil alternatives, combined with the increases in soil organic carbon, correspond to 1-1,4% of total GHG emissions in EU28. The introduction of “eco-schemes” in the new CAP may resolve some of the main barriers to implementation of large-scale multifunctional biomass production systems. Increasing the knowledge of these opportunities among all EU member states, before designing and introducing country-specific Eco-scheme options in the new CAP, is critical.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
- Englund, Oskar, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
How to analyse ecosystem services in landscapes—A systematic review
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X .- 1872-7034. ; 73, s. 492-504
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecosystem services (ES) is a significant research topic with diverse modelling and mapping approaches. However, the variety of approaches—along with an inconsistent terminology—cause uncertainties concerning the choice of methods. This paper identifies and qualitatively assesses methods for mapping ES in terrestrial landscapes, based on a systematic review of the scientific literature. It further aims to clarify the associated terminology, in particular the concept of landscape and landscape scale. In total, 347 cases of ES mapping were identified in the reviewed papers. Regulating and maintenance services were most commonly mapped (165), followed by cultural (85), and provisioning services (73). For individual ES, a large variation in number of mapping cases was found. This variation may either reflect the perceived importance of the ES, or that different ES can be more or less easily mapped. Overall, Logical models and Empirical models were most commonly used, followed by Extrapolation, Simulation/Process models, Data integration, and Direct mapping. Only twelve percent of all ES mapping cases were validated with empirical data. The review revealed highly diverging views on the spatial extent of landscapes in studies of ES, and that the term landscape is sometimes used rather arbitrarily.
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| 42. |
- Englund, Oskar, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Large-scale deployment of grass in crop rotations as a multifunctional climate mitigation strategy
- 2023
-
Ingår i: GCB Bioenergy. - : Wiley. - 1757-1707 .- 1757-1693. ; 15:2, s. 166-184
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The agriculture sector can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequestering carbon in vegetation and soils, and providing biomass to substitute for fossil fuels and other GHG-intensive products. The sector also needs to address water, soil, and biodiversity impacts caused by historic and current practices. Emerging EU policies create incentives for cultivation of perennial plants that provide biomass along with environmental benefits. One such option, common in northern Europe, is to include grass in rotations with annual crops to provide biomass while remediating soil organic carbon (SOC) losses and other environmental impacts. Here, we apply a spatially explicit model on >81,000 sub-watersheds in EU27 + UK (Europe) to explore the effects of widespread deployment of such systems. Based on current accumulated SOC losses in individual sub-watersheds, the model identifies and quantifies suitable areas for increased grass cultivation and corresponding biomass- and protein supply, SOC sequestration, and reductions in nitrogen emissions to water as well as wind and water erosion. The model also provides information about possible flood mitigation. The results indicate a substantial climate mitigation potential, with combined annual GHG savings from soil-carbon sequestration and displacement of natural gas with biogas from grass-based biorefineries, equivalent to 13%–48% of current GHG emissions from agriculture in Europe. The environmental co-benefits are also notable, in some cases exceeding the estimated mitigation needs. Yield increases for annual crops in modified rotations mitigate the displacement effect of increasing grass cultivation. If the grass is used as feedstock in lieu of annual crops, the displacement effect can even be negative, that is, a reduced need for annual crop production elsewhere. Incentivizing widespread deployment will require supportive policy measures as well as new uses of grass biomass, for example, as feedstock for green biorefineries producing protein concentrate, biofuels, and other bio-based products.
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| 43. |
- Englund, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
-
Large-scale deployment of in-rotation grass cultivation as a multifunctional soil climate mitigation strategy
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The agricultural sector can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequestering atmospheric carbon in vegetation and soils, and by providing biomass for substituting fossil fuels and other GHG intensive products in the energy, industry and transport sectors. New policies at EU level provide incentives for more sustainable land use practices, for example, cultivation systems using perennial plants that provide biomass for food, bioenergy and other biobased products along with land carbon sequestration and other environmental benefits. Based on spatial modelling across more than 81,000 landscapes in Europe, we find that introduction of grass-clover leys into rotations with annual crops could result in soil organic carbon sequestration corresponding to 5-10% of total current GHG emissions from agriculture in EU27+UK, annually until 2050. The combined annual GHG savings from soil carbon sequestration and use of biogas produced in connection to grass-based biorefineries equals 13-48% of current GHG emissions from agriculture. The assessed environmental co-benefits (reduced wind and water erosion, reduced nitrogen emissions to water, and mitigation of impacts associated with flooding) are considerable. Besides policy instruments, new markets for grass biomass, e.g., as feedstock for producing biofuels and protein concentrate, can incentivize widespread deployment of in-rotation grass cultivation.
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| 44. |
- Englund, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic deployment of riparian buffers and windbreaks in Europe can co-deliver biomass and environmental benefits
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Communications Earth & Environment. - : Springer Nature. - 2662-4435. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Within the scope of the new Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, in coherence with other EU policies, new incentives are developed for farmers to deploy practices that are beneficial for climate, water, soil, air, and biodiversity. Such practices include establishment of multifunctional biomass production systems, designed to reduce environmental impacts while providing biomass for food, feed, bioenergy, and other biobased products. Here, we model three scenarios of large-scale deployment for two such systems, riparian buffers and windbreaks, across over 81,000 landscapes in Europe, and quantify the corresponding areas, biomass output, and environmental benefits. The results show that these systems can effectively reduce nitrogen emissions to water and soil loss by wind erosion, while simultaneously providing substantial environmental co-benefits, having limited negative effects on current agricultural production. This kind of beneficial land-use change using strategic perennialization is important for meeting environmental objectives while advancing towards a sustainable bioeconomy.
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| 45. |
- Flysjö, A., et al.
(författare)
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How does co-product handling affect the carbon footprint of milk? Case study of milk production in New Zealand and Sweden
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 16:5, s. 420-430
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose This paper investigates different methodologies of handling co-products in life cycle assessment (LCA) or carbon footprint (CF) studies. Co-product handling can have a significant effect on final LCA/CF results, and although there are guidelines on the preferred order for different methods for handling co-products, no agreed understanding on applicable methods is available. In the present study, the greenhouse gases (GHG) associated with the production of 1 kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM) at farm gate is investigated considering co-product handling. Materials and methods Two different milk production systems were used as case studies in the investigation of the effect of applying different methodologies in coproduct handling: (1) outdoor grazing system in New Zealand and (2) mainly indoor housing system with a pronounced share of concentrate feed in Sweden. Since the cows produce milk, meat (when slaughtered), calves, manure, hides, etc., the environmental burden (here GHG emissions) must be distributed between these outputs (in the present study no emissions are attributed to hides specifically, or to manure which is recycled on-farm). Different methodologically approaches, (1) system expansion (two cases), (2) physical causality allocation, (3) economic allocation, (4) protein allocation and (5) mass allocation, are applied in the study. Results and discussion The results show large differences in the final CF number depending on which methodology has been used for accounting co-products. Most evident is that system expansion gives a lower CF for milk than allocation methods. System expansion resulted in 63- 76% of GHG emissions attributed directly to milk, while allocation resulted in 85-98%. It is stressed that meat is an important by-product from milk production and that milk and beef production is closely interlinked and therefore needs to be considered in an integrated approach. Conclusions To obtain valid LCA/CF numbers for milk, it is crucial to account for by-products. Moreover, if CF numbers for milk need to be compared, the same allocation procedure should be applied. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.
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| 46. |
- Flysjö, A., et al.
(författare)
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The impact of various parameters on the carbon footprint of milk production in New Zealand and Sweden
- 2011
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Ingår i: Agricultural Systems. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2267 .- 0308-521X. ; 104:6, s. 459-469
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The carbon footprint (CF) of milk production was analysed at the farm gate for two contrasting production systems; an outdoor pasture grazing system in New Zealand (NZ) and a mainly indoor housing system with pronounced use of concentrate feed in Sweden (SE). The method used is based on the conceptual framework of lifecycle assessment (LCA), but only for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. National average data were used to model the dairy system in each country. Collection of inventory data and calculations of emissions were harmonised to the greatest extent possible for the two systems. The calculated CF for 1kg of energy corrected milk (ECM), including related by-products (surplus calves and culled cows), was 1.00kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) for NZ and 1.16kg CO2e for SE. Methane from enteric fermentation and nitrous oxide emissions from application of nitrogen (as fertiliser and as excreta dropped directly on the field) were the main contributors to the CF in both countries. The most important parameters to consider when calculating the GHG emissions were dry matter intake (DMI), emission factor (EF) for methane from enteric fermentation, amount of nitrogen applied and EF for direct nitrous oxide emissions from soils. By changing one parameter at a time within 'reasonable' limits (i.e. no extreme values assumed), the impact on the total CF was assessed and showed changes of up to 15%. In addition, the uncertainty in CF estimates due to uncertainty in EF for methane from enteric fermentation and nitrous oxide emissions (from soil and due to ammonia volatilisation) were analysed through Monte Carlo simulation. This resulted in an uncertainty distribution corresponding to 0.60-1.52kg CO2e kg-1 ECM for NZ and 0.83-1.56kg CO2e kg-1 ECM for SE (in the prediction interval 2.5-97.5%). Hence, the variation within the systems based on the main EF is relatively large compared with the difference in CF between the countries. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
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| 47. |
- Flysjö, A., et al.
(författare)
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The interaction between milk and beef production and emissions from land use change - Critical considerations in life cycle assessment and carbon footprint studies of milk
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 28, s. 134-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two most critical factors to address in environmental system analysis of future milk production are 1) the link between milk and beef production, and 2) the competition for land, possibly leading to land use change (LUC) with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and loss of biodiversity as important implications. Different methodological approaches concerning these factors, in studies on environmental impacts of dairy production, sometimes lead to contradictory results. Increasing milk yield per cow is often one of the solutions discussed in order to reduce GHG emissions from milk production. However, when also accounting for other systems affected (e.g. beef production) it is not certain that an increase in milk yield per cow leads to a reduction in total GHG emissions per kg milk. In the present study the correlation between carbon footprint (CF) of milk and the amount of milk delivered per cow is investigated for 23 dairy farms (both organic and conventional) in Sweden. Use of a fixed allocation factor of 90% (based on economic value) indicates a reduction in CF with increased milk yield, while no correlation can be noted when system expansion is applied. The average CF for two groups of farms, organic and high yielding conventional, is also calculated. When conducting system expansion the CF is somewhat lower for the organic farms (which have a lower milk yield per cow, but more meat per kg milk), but when a 90% allocation factor is used, the CF is somewhat higher for the organic farms compared to the high yielding conventional farms. In analysis of future strategies for milk production, it is suggested that system expansion should be applied, in order to also account for environmental impacts from affected systems. Thus, scenarios for milk and meat production should be analysed in an integrated approach in order to reduce total emissions from the livestock sector. How to account for emissions from LUC is highly debated and there is no current shared consensus. Different LUC methods result in significantly different results. In this study, four different LUC methods are applied, using data for organic milk production and high yielding conventional milk production systems in Sweden. Depending on which LUC method was applied, the organic system showed about 50% higher or 40% lower CF compared to the conventional high yielding system. Thus, when reporting CF numbers, it is important to report LUC-factors separately and clearly explain the underlying assumptions, since the method of accounting for LUC can drastically change the results. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 48. |
- Hashemi, Fatemeh, et al.
(författare)
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Organic food has lower environmental impacts per area unit and similar climate impacts per mass unit compared to conventional
- 2024
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Ingår i: Communications Earth and Environment. - 2662-4435. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, interest in studying the climate and environmental impact of organic food has grown. Here, we compared the environmental impacts of organic and conventional food using data from 100 life cycle assessment studies. Most studies focused on climate impacts, with fewer addressing biodiversity loss and ecotoxicity. Findings revealed no significant differences in global warming, eutrophication potential, and energy use per mass unit. However, organic food showed lower global warming, eutrophication potential, and energy use per area unit, with higher land use. Additionally, organic farming showed lower potential for biodiversity loss and ecotoxicity. Challenges in life cycle assessment include evaluating biodiversity, toxicity, soil quality, and carbon changes. The choice of functional units influences results, highlighting the importance of considering multiple units in assessing organic food’s environmental footprint. This study emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive assessments at both product and diet levels to support informed decisions.
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| 49. |
- Heimersson, Sara, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Improved life cycle modelling of benefits from sewage sludge anaerobic digestion and land application
- 2017
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 122, s. 126-134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter are valuable resources in sewage sludge. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be useful for comparing the potential environmental risks of sludge management strategies to their potential environmental benefits. With growing interest in resource recovery from sludge, there is an increasing need to properly account for the benefits that can be achieved, and to handle the multi functionality issues that then arise in LCAs. So far, both of these aspects have often been handled in a generic and seemingly arbitrary way. The study identified and explored several alternative approaches to handle the multi-functionality in the LCA of a sludge handling system that generates both biogas and a sludge that is used on arable land; either through avoiding allocation by substituting for avoided products or services (e.g. fertilisers and natural gas), or by allocating the impact from the studied system between its functions based on economic terms. The choice of approach strongly influenced the overall LCA-result for the studied system, in particular for some of the studied impact categories. Although an attempt was made to apply economic allocation in this article, it can be concluded that no coherent basis for applying allocation was identified. Substitution was more easily applied, however, the results were highly dependent on the product assumed to be replaced by biogas and the modelling of avoided mineral fertiliser use. The previously neglected benefits related to organic matter provided by the sludge to arable land were potentially as important as the benefits of the nitrogen and phosphorus, although the quantification of such effects will need further refinement, and are only relevant for certain soil conditions. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 50. |
- Henriksson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Carbon footprint and land requirement for dairy herd rations : Impacts of feed production practices and regional climate variations
- 2014
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Ingår i: Animal. - 1751-7311 .- 1751-732X. ; 8:8, s. 1329-1338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Feed production is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy production and demands large arable and pasture acreage. This study analysed how regional conditions influence GHG emissions of dairy feed rations in a life cycle perspective, that is the carbon footprint (CF) and the land area required. Factors assessed included regional climate variations, grass/clover silage nutrient quality, feedstuff availability, crop yield and feed losses. Using the Nordic feed evaluation model NorFor, rations were optimised for different phases of lactation, dry and growing periods for older cows, first calvers and heifers by regional feed advisors and combined to annual herd rations. Feed production data at farm level were based on national statistics and studies. CF estimates followed standards for life cycle assessment and used emissions factors provided by IPCC. The functional unit was 'feed consumption to produce 1 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) from a cow with annual milk yield of 9 900 kg ECM including replacement animals and feed losses'. Feed ration CF varied from 417 to 531 g CO2 e/kg ECM. Grass/clover silage contributed more than 50% of total GHG emissions. Use of higher quality silage increased ration CF by up to 5% as a result of an additional cut and increased rates of synthetic N-fertiliser. Domestically produced horse bean (Vicia faba), by-products from the sugar industry and maize silage were included in the rations with the lowest CF, but horse bean significantly increased ration land requirement. Rations required between 1.4 to 2 m2 cropland and 0.1 to 0.2 m2/kg semi-natural grassland per kg ECM and year. Higher yield levels reduced ration total CF. Inclusion of GHG emissions from land use change associated with Brazilian soya feed significantly increased ration CF. Ration CF and land use depended on ration composition, which was highly influenced by the regional availability and production of feedstuffs. The impact of individual feedstuffs on ration CF varies due to, for example, cultivation practices and climate conditions and feedstuffs should therefore be assessed in a ration and regional perspective before being used to decrease milk CF. Land use efficiency should be considered together with ration CF, as these can generate goal conflicts.
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