Name: Assessing the environmental impact of agriculture
Author: Bo Weidema
ISBN: 9780429275425

Book

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ABSTRACT

A prerequisite to improving the sustainability of agriculture are reliable methods to identify and quantify types of environmental impact. This collection summarises current research on the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) and other modelling techniques to measure and improve the sustainability of agriculture. Part 1 looks at current best practice and key methodological challenges in life cycle assessment. Part 2 reviews ways of modelling particular types of impact, from nutrient and carbon cycles to freshwater balances, energy use, pesticide use and biodiversity. Part 3 reviews the environmental assessment and optimization of sectors such as crops, ruminant and other livestock production as well as by-products. Assessing the environmental impact of agriculture will be a standard reference for researchers in agricultural and environmental science concerned with understanding and mitigating the environmental impact of agriculture.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1: Life cycle assessment 1. Current best practice in life cycle assessment methodology for agriculture 2. Key challenges in modelling of agricultural activities and their environmental impacts 3. Using life cycle assessment to compare intensive versus extensive agricultural systems Part 2: Modelling particular impacts 4. Modelling nutrient cycles in agriculture and their environmental impacts 5. Modelling the carbon cycle in agriculture and its impacts 6. Modelling physical impacts of agriculture on freshwater and energy balances 7. Modelling the environmental impacts of pesticides in agriculture 8. Modelling direct and indirect land occupation and transformation and its impacts on biodiversity 9. Including socio-economic impacts of agriculture in life cycle assessments Part 3: Case studies 10. Improvement options for agricultural crop production for food, feed, bioenergy, and bioplastics 11. Improvement options for horticultural production for food, stimulants, and pharmaceuticals 12. Assessing the environmental impact of livestock production systems 13. Improvement options for pig and poultry production 14. Improvement options for treatment and valorisation of agricultural by-products