VERSION 1 Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops A life cycle inventory LIVESTOCK ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND http://www.fao.org/partnerships/leap I8275EN/1/12.17 PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIP VERSION 1 Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops A life cycle inventory FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2017 Recommended Citation FAO. 2017. Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops: A life cycle inventory. Version 1. Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership. FAO, Rome, Italy. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-130078-7 © FAO, 2017 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected] Contents Acknowledgements 1 1. INTRODUCTION 3 1.1. Aims and objectives 3 1.2. Scope of the study 3 1.3. Outline of the report 3 2. DATA AND DATA COLLECTION METHODS 5 2.1. Database overview 5 2.2. Data representativeness 6 2.3. Principles for data collection 6 2.4. Dealing with data gaps 7 3. LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY 9 3.1. Seed and seeding rates 9 3.2. Crop yields 10 3.3. Crop residues 10 3.4. Synthetic fertilizer and agricultural lime 11 3.4.1. Data and data sources 11 3.3.2. Data gaps 12 3.3.3. Emission factors for production of synthetic fertilizer and agricultural lime 13 3.5. Organic fertilizer (manure) 13 3.5.1. Data and data sources 14 3.5.2. Data gaps 14 3.5.3. Emission factors 14 3.6. Pesticides 14 3.6.1. Data and data sources 14 3.6.2. Data gaps 15 3.7. Water use for irrigation 15 3.7.1. Data and data sources 15 3.7.2. Emission factors 15 3.8. Machinery and equipment 16 3.8.1. Data and data sources 16 3.8.2. Data gaps 17 3.9. Energy 17 3.10. Land use change 18 3.10.1. Data and data sources 18 3.10.2. Emission factors 18 REFERENCES 21 iii ANNEX 1 YIELD distriBUTION MAPS for MAIZE, Wheat, BARLEY AND soyBean 29 ANNEX 2 N applicatioN rates from maNure (kg N/ ha) 33 ANNEX 3 pesticide applicatioN rates – maximum, miNimum aNd average values 37 ANNEX4 e missioN factors for abstractioN of grouNd water (kgCO2/ha) 41 ANNEX 5 Machinery AND EQUIPMENT USE, FREQUENCY, OPeration TIME aNd meaN fuel coNsumption 45 ANNEX 6 emissioNs factors for laNd use chaNge (toNs CO2eq/kgm d *year), 2010 75 iv Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops - A life cycle inventory Acknowledgements The draft database and accompanying documents is a product of the Livestock En- vironmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership. The database has been developed based on the LEAP Feed Guidelines: Environmental performance of animal feeds supply chains: Guidelines for quantification. The LEAP Secretariat coordinated and led the work of this assessment, and ensured coherence between LEAP Guidelines and the analysis. This work was led by Carolyn Opio (Livestock Policy Officer, FAO). The re- search team included Alessandra Falcucci, Monica Rulli, Ellen Huls, Renato Cu- mani, and Theun Vellinga (modelling and data management). Supporting analysis was carried out by research partners, including Rich Conant and Tom Hiliniski from Colorado State University. The database development has been carried out by: Luca Pepi and Donatella Mori from FAO and Dick Stamens from Wageningen University. Appreciation also goes to those who have provided valuable comments, views and information on this first draft version of the database which enriched the analy- sis and the report. We would like to acknowledge the support of Camillo de Camil- lis, Claudia Ciarlantini and Claudia Nicolai. v Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops - A life cycle inventory 1. introduction Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) are necessary for performing life cycle assessments (LCAs) however the availability of such data is often the greatest barrier for con- ducting LCA. The LEAP Partnership recognizes this challenge and has put great effort in gathering and compiling the LCI data presented in this report. The LCI phase involves the collection and quantification of inputs and outputs throughout the life cycle stages covered by the system boundary of the individual study. This document is part of background documentation for the LEAP global database on GHG emissions from feed crops and describes life cycle inventory data related to the cultivation of 5 main crops used for feed. 1.1 AIMS AND OBJectives The wider context for this study is to ensure that benchmarking of livestock supply chains is based on recognized internationally recognized and harmonized meth- odology and datasets. The goal of this assessment is to develop a robust life cycle inventory (LCI) and emission intensity database. Specific objectives were to estab- lish a global database of GHG emissions and emission intensities for major feed crops disaggregated by crop, production practices, and country and provide a con- solidated database of life cycle inventories to support continued benchmarking in livestock supply chains. 1.2 ScoPE OF THE study The main focus is on the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions arising from the cultivation phase in crop production. The study focuses on 5 main crops: maize, wheat, barley, cassava and soybean and covers the major GHG emissions: CO2, N2O and CH4 from all major processes from raw material production through to the production of crop to the field-gate. In addition, the analysis incorporates car- bon stock changes associated with land-use change. Changes in soil carbon from constant and management will be incorporated in the database. Results from this analysis are provided in a database. This database provides in- formation on the life cycle inventory per crop and the emission intensities associ- ated with the cultivation of the crop. Users are able to query the database to access aggregate information on emission intensities associated with the studied crops dis- aggregated by production practice and country. 1.3 OUTLINE OF THE REPort This report presents the life cycle inventories of the five studied crops. Section 2 of the document presents the type of data that can be sourced from the database, the data collection methods, and highlights the data gaps. Section three presents the life cycle inventory providing information on the data and data sources, assumptions and data gaps and how these were addressed. The Annexes provide information on crop yield distributions, data on nitrogen applica- tion rates, pesticide use and information on field processes and machinery use. 1 Global database of GHG emissions related to feed crops - A life cycle inventory 2. data and data collection methods 2.1 DATABASE overvieW The database has 2010 as its reference year and it is organized in 3 main sections: • Life Cycle Inventory (LCI); • Field work processes; and • Emission Intensity. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) This section reports the main inputs used in the production of each crop such as: seed, organic fertilizer, synthetic N fertilizer, lime, phosphorus, potassium, and pes- ticides. These values are expressed in kg of input per hectare of harvested area. Ad- ditional inventory data provided include data on crop yields and crop residues per crop. For each variable, the minimum, the maximum, the average and the standard deviation values are provided. Field work processes This section reports, per crop, per production system and practice, and per coun- try, the main cultivation activities such as: ploughing, seedbed preparation, sowing, fertilization (lime, organic and synthetic fertilizer application), pesticide spraying, weed control, irrigation and harvesting. For each of these cropping activities, the frequency (number of times the activity is performed) and the type of traction (i.e. mechanical, animal, manual) are reported. The type of traction is expressed as the fraction of the process performed per type of traction, summing up to 1. Emission Intensity In this section, the emission intensities, related to the different on-farm activities, such as seed, organic fertilizer, synthetic fertilizer, crop protection, energy use in land work, land use and land use change, are presented, per crop, per production system and practice, and per country. For each, the minimum, the maximum, the average and the standard deviation values are reported in kg of CO2-eq. per kg of dry matter. The four statistical values are calculated to give the user an overview of the variability across each country, and are dependent on the spatial heterogeneity of the crop yields which is in turn determined by the different environmental and management conditions.