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|150 pages
Life cycle assessment
chapter Chapter 1|46 pages
Life cycle assessment methodology for agriculture: some considerations for best practices
chapter Chapter 2|36 pages
Key challenges in modelling of agricultural activities and their environmental impact
chapter Chapter 3|36 pages
The use of farm-level models to assess the environmental impact of livestock production
chapter Chapter 5|12 pages
Using life cycle assessment to compare intensive versus extensive agricultural systems
part 2|108 pages
Modelling particular impacts
part |102 pages
Part 3