Modeling Crop Rotations and Co-Products in Agricultural Life Cycle Assessments

Gerhard Brankatschk provides solutions for methodological limitations of agricultural Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). The author solves challenges of attributing multifunctionality (co-products) and temporal system boundaries (crop rotations) of agricultural systems by establishing two new Life Cycle Inventory methodologies, which conform to ISO-standards on LCA. The new methods help to assess temporal, spatial, and multifunctional complexity of agricultural systems and to improve the reliability of life cycle based sustainability assessments of agriculture.

Contents

• Challenges in LCA for Agricultural Systems
• Application of the Cereal Unit in a New Allocation Procedure for Agricultural LCAs
• Modeling Crop Rotation in Agricultural LCAs
• Crop Rotations and Crop Residues are Relevant Parameters for Agricultural Carbon Footprints
• International Initiatives on Global Challenges for Agriculture

Target Groups

• Researchers and students in the fields of agricultural science, sustainability assessment, life cycle assessment, and environmental protection
• Practitioners in the fields of the provision of food, feed, fibre and fuels as well as in the fields of bioenergy, biomass, bioeconomics, and life cycle assessment, consultancies and research institutions

The Author Gerhard Brankatschk holds a doctoral degree from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, and is an engineer for land use and water resource management.