Perennial-GHG: A new generic allometric model to estimate biomass accumulation and greenhouse gas emissions in perennial food and bioenergy crops

• Published in: Environmental modelling & software : with environment data news Vol. 102; pp. 292 - 305
• Main Authors: Ledo, A., Heathcote, R., Hastings, A., Smith, P., Hillier, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2018; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Above ground biomass; Agricultural land; Below ground biomass; Biomass; Biomass energy production; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Coffee; Crops; Decomposition; Emissions; Energy crops; Estimates; Food; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gas emissions; Greenhouse gases; Modelling; Perennial crops; Renewable energy; Sugarcane; Above ground biomass; Carbon dioxide; Decomposition; Modelling; Greenhouse gas emissions; Below ground biomass; Carbon
• ISSN: 1364-8152; 1873-6726
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.12.005

Agriculture, and its impact on land, contributes almost a third of total human emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). At the same time, it is the only sector which has significant potential for negative emissions through offsetting via the supply of feedstock for energy and sequestration in biomass and soils. Perennial crops represent 30% of the global cropland area. However, the positive effect of biomass storage on net GHG emissions has largely been ignored. Reasons for this include the inconsistency in methods of accounting for biomass in perennials. In this study, we present a generic model to calculate the carbon balance and GHG emissions from perennial crops, covering both bioenergy and food crops. The model can be parametrized for any given crop if the necessary empirical data exists. We illustrate the model for four perennial crops – apple, coffee, sugarcane, and Miscanthus– to demonstrate the importance of biomass in overall farm GHG emissions.
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•Inconsistency in methods impedes quantification on net greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of perennial crops.•We present a generic model to calculate the carbon balance and GHG emissions from perennial crops, including examples.•Different crops and management practices lead to very different emissions of GHGs, which can be either positive or negative.•Under judicious management, perennials have potential for climate change mitigation.