TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainability of rice intensification in Uruguay from 1993 to 2013
AU - Pittelkow, Cameron M.
AU - Zorrilla, Gonzalo
AU - Terra, José
AU - Riccetto, Sara
AU - Macedo, Ignacio
AU - Bonilla, Camila
AU - Roel, Alvaro
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to the many members of Uruguay's rice sector who shared crop management data and helpful insights, namely the rice farmers association (ACA) and the rice millers association (GMA). Gonzalo Carracelas, Enrique Deambrosi, Pedro Blanco, Leonidas Carrasco-Letelier, and Jesus Castillo of INIA all provided valuable inputs to this research. C. M. Pittelkow was supported by the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program administered by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - Despite increasing calls for the sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture, environmental impacts associated with historical patterns of yield increase remain poorly understood, particularly involving multiple sustainability indicators. The objective of this study was to examine the sustainability of rice intensification in Uruguay from 1993 to 2013. National rice production and crop management records were used to estimate energy, nitrogen, water, and carbon footprints and agrochemical contamination risk for the rice phase of typical rice-pasture rotations in Uruguay. Results suggest that increases in national production were achieved with simultaneous increases in net energy yield and water use efficiency (56% and 41%, respectively). Although carbon footprint per unit of production decreased (-30%), potential nitrogen losses increased (37%) and elevated agrochemical contamination risk occurred in specific years. This study highlights the potential role of improved agronomy in balancing food production and environmental goals, while also indicating that similar holistic assessments are needed for other rice growing regions to better evaluate SI strategies and quantify potential tradeoffs.
AB - Despite increasing calls for the sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture, environmental impacts associated with historical patterns of yield increase remain poorly understood, particularly involving multiple sustainability indicators. The objective of this study was to examine the sustainability of rice intensification in Uruguay from 1993 to 2013. National rice production and crop management records were used to estimate energy, nitrogen, water, and carbon footprints and agrochemical contamination risk for the rice phase of typical rice-pasture rotations in Uruguay. Results suggest that increases in national production were achieved with simultaneous increases in net energy yield and water use efficiency (56% and 41%, respectively). Although carbon footprint per unit of production decreased (-30%), potential nitrogen losses increased (37%) and elevated agrochemical contamination risk occurred in specific years. This study highlights the potential role of improved agronomy in balancing food production and environmental goals, while also indicating that similar holistic assessments are needed for other rice growing regions to better evaluate SI strategies and quantify potential tradeoffs.
KW - Carbon footprint
KW - Eco-efficiency
KW - Energy
KW - Environmental impact
KW - Nitrogen
KW - Resource-use efficiency
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U2 - 10.1016/j.gfs.2016.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.gfs.2016.05.003
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84969287127
SN - 2211-9124
VL - 9
SP - 10
EP - 18
JO - Global Food Security
JF - Global Food Security
ER -