Use of life cycle assessment methodology for determining phytoremediation potentials of maize-based cropping systems in fields with nitrogen fertilizer over-dose.

Abstract Using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we analyzed the effects of different cropping systems (sole maize (CK), maize + soybean (CST) and maize + groundnut (CGT)) on the environment. The comprehensive index of environmental impacts varied in the order, sole maize > maize + groundnut > maize + soybean, with corresponding intercropping values of 0.1295, 0.1229 and 0.0945, respectively. The results showed that intercropping maize with suitable plants (e.g., groundnut and soybean) could reduce the adverse effects of over-application of nitrogen fertilizer on the environment. The study further showed that the LCA method may be a convenient and effective approach for analyzing the environmental impact of fertilizer management in agricultural fields.

[1]  S. D. Cunningham,et al.  Promises and Prospects of Phytoremediation , 1996, Plant physiology.

[2]  Augustine Ntiamoah,et al.  Environmental impacts of cocoa production and processing in Ghana: life cycle assessment approach , 2008 .

[3]  S. Ryding.  ISO 14042 Environmental management • Life cycle assessment • life cycle impact assessment , 1999 .

[4]  Sevket Durucan,et al.  Mining life cycle modelling: a cradle-to-gate approach to environmental management in the minerals industry , 2006 .

[5]  Mario Rapaccini,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of electricity production from poplar energy crops compared with conventional fossil fuels , 1999 .

[6]  D W Pennington,et al.  Life cycle assessment: Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications , 2004 .

[7]  Jutta Geldermann,et al.  Development of a multiple criteria based decision support system for environmental assessment of recycling measures in the iron and steel making industry , 1998 .

[8]  P. Barraclough,et al.  Environmental impact assessment of agricultural production systems using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology II. The application to N fertilizer use in winter wheat production systems , 2004 .

[9]  M. Avraamides,et al.  Resource consumption and emissions from olive oil production: a life cycle inventory case study in Cyprus , 2008 .

[10]  Antonio Vallejo,et al.  Controlling nitrate pollution of aquifers by using different nitrogenous controlled release fertilizers in maize crop , 1994 .

[11]  Tomas Ekvall,et al.  Key methodological issues for life cycle inventory analysis of paper recycling , 1999 .

[12]  A. Bouwman,et al.  Compilation of a global inventory of emissions of nitrous oxide. , 1995 .

[13]  J. Delgado,et al.  Assessment of groundwater use by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Luancheng Xian region and potential implications for water conservation in the northwestern North China Plain , 2005 .

[14]  Fusuo Zhang,et al.  Nitrogen dynamics and budgets in a winter wheat-maize cropping system in the North China Plain , 2003 .

[15]  Roland Clift,et al.  Use of Life Cycle Assessment to Develop Industrial Ecologies—A Case Study: Graphics Paper , 2005 .

[16]  D. Butcher,et al.  Phytoremediation of lead with green onions (Allium fistulosum) and uptake of arsenic compounds by moonlight ferns (Pteris cretica cv Mayii) , 2009 .

[17]  Josip Borošić,et al.  Mulching decreases nitrate leaching in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivation , 2003 .

[18]  Anònim Anònim.  Keys to Soil Taxonomy , 2010 .

[19]  Bingzi Zhao,et al.  Nitrate leaching in an Andisol treated with different types of fertilizers. , 2003, Environmental pollution.

[20]  James S. Schepers,et al.  Nitrogen and water management strategies to reduce nitrate leaching under irrigated maize , 1995 .

[21]  H. von Blottnitz,et al.  A life-cycle comparison between inorganic and biological catalysis for the production of biodiesel , 2008 .

[22]  E. Hansen,et al.  Nitrate leaching as influenced by soil tillage and catch crop , 1997 .

[23]  Bruno Basso,et al.  Impact of compost, manure and inorganic fertilizer on nitrate leaching and yield for a 6-year maize-alfalfa rotation in Michigan , 2005 .

[24]  Quan Wei,et al.  Effects of Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution on Eutrophica tion of Water Body and Its Control Measure , 2002 .

[25]  Marzena Ucherek,et al.  Problems associated with ecological assessment of packaging , 2003 .

[26]  Liu Wen-na.  Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessment of Winter Wheat in North China Plain , 2006 .

[27]  Pornpote Piumsomboon,et al.  LCA of spent fluorescent lamps in Thailand at various rates of recycling , 2008 .

[28]  Valerio Lo Brano,et al.  Life cycle assessment of a solar thermal collector , 2005 .

[29]  A. Eneji,et al.  Review of Current Status and Research Approaches to Nitrogen Pollution in Farmlands , 2009 .

[30]  Roberto S. Clemente,et al.  Impacts of fertigation via sprinkler irrigation on nitrate leaching and corn yield in an acid–sulphate soil in Thailand , 2002 .

[31]  A. Mosier,et al.  USE OF CONTROLLED RELEASE FERTILIZERS AND NITRIFICATION INHIBITORS TO INCREASE NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY AND TO CONSERVE AIR ANDWATER QUALITY , 2001 .

[32]  Frank Brentrup,et al.  Application of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology to agricultural production: an example of sugar beet production with different forms of nitrogen fertilisers , 2001 .

[33]  N. Kihou,et al.  Vinyl-film mulch: a practice for sweet potato (Ipomoea Batatas Lam. var. Edulis Makino) cultivation to reduce nitrate leaching , 1994 .

[34]  P. W. Lane,et al.  Assessment of tillage strategies to decrease nitrate leaching in the Brimstone Farm Experiment, Oxfordshire, UK , 2000 .

[35]  J. A. Smith,et al.  Phytoremediation of mixed-contaminated soil using the hyperaccumulator plant Alyssum lesbiacum: evidence of histidine as a measure of phytoextractable nickel. , 2007, Environmental pollution.

[36]  Tomas Ekvall.  Comment on the marginal approach to allocation , 1999 .

[37]  J. Lammel,et al.  Environmental impact assessment of agricultural production systems using the life cycle assessment methodology: I. Theoretical concept of a LCA method tailored to crop production , 2004 .

[38]  Laosheng Wu,et al.  Nitrate leaching and soil nitrate content as affected by irrigation uniformity in a carrot field , 2001 .

[39]  O. Oenema,et al.  Effects of lowering nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses in agriculture on the quality of groundwater and surface water in the Netherlands , 2005 .

[40]  Xin-ping Chen,et al.  Reducing environmental risk by improving N management in intensive Chinese agricultural systems , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.