Keywords
Energy audit · Sustainable agriculture · TNAU Energy Soft 2016 · Sustainable
agricultural bioeconomy · Climate change · Mitigation
13.1 Introduction
The face of the earth surface has been changed by the human activities particularly
land use changes (Foley et al. 2005). World agriculture occupies about 38% of
Earth’s terrestrial surface (Foley et al. 2005; Ramankutty et al. 2008). Indeed, the
global agricultural landscape is one of the largest terrestrial biomes on our planet
(Venkatramanan and Shah 2019). However, the increase in agricultural area and
technological interventions aided in increasing the global food grain production. The
developments in Indian agriculture are no exception. Indian economy is mainly
agrarian in nature. The modern agriculture in India and elsewhere is based on
“(1) the varietal improvements in targeted crops, achieved through either conventional plant breeding or through genetic engineering and (2) increased utilization of
purchased inputs, such as inorganic fertilizers, agrochemical crop protection and
usually petroleum-derived energy to support larger-scale production with extensive
mechanization” (Uphoff 2015; Venkatramanan and Shah 2019). The bottom line is
that the agricultural activity has become more energy-intensive and it is a source of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agriculture is both a contributor and a victim of
climate change. However, the industrial revolution, population growth and unsustainable consumption pattern are the globally accepted reasons for the increased
GHG emissions. Increasing GHG emissions is a cause of concern. Anthropogenic
actions are responsible for the total GHG emissions of about 49 gigatonnes of CO 2 -
equivalent per year (GtCO 2 -eq/year) (Fig. 13.1) (IPCC 2014). CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O
together account for 80% of the total radiative forcing and their concentration is
reportedly increasing since the industrial revolution (Venkatramanan and Shah
2019). Human activities like “combustion of fossil fuel”, “land use changes” and
“agricultural activities” are responsible for the increasing concentration of these
three important GHGs. It is reported that “CO 2 increased by 40% from 278 ppm
about 1750 to 390.5 ppm in 2011. During the same time interval, CH 4 increased by
150% from 722 ppb to 1803 ppb, and N 2 O by 20% from 271 ppb to 324.2 ppb in
2011” (Ciais et al. 2013). While the causes for increase in methane were “natural
wetlands emissions, agriculture, waste management, biomass and biofuel burning”
(Venkatramanan and Shah 2019), the nitrous oxide emissions increased due to
“nitrification and de-nitrification reactions occurring in soils and in the ocean”
(Ciais et al. 2013). Indiscriminate use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers is
also equally contributing to climate change through GHG emissions. In effect, the
agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sectors contribute about 10–12 Gt
of CO 2 -equivalent per year. As regard the AFOLU sector, the driving factors for
GHG emissions are land use changes, enteric fermentation, rice cultivation, crop
286
G. Dheebakaran et al.
Energy audit · Sustainable agriculture · TNAU Energy Soft 2016 · Sustainable
agricultural bioeconomy · Climate change · Mitigation
13.1 Introduction
The face of the earth surface has been changed by the human activities particularly
land use changes (Foley et al. 2005). World agriculture occupies about 38% of
Earth’s terrestrial surface (Foley et al. 2005; Ramankutty et al. 2008). Indeed, the
global agricultural landscape is one of the largest terrestrial biomes on our planet
(Venkatramanan and Shah 2019). However, the increase in agricultural area and
technological interventions aided in increasing the global food grain production. The
developments in Indian agriculture are no exception. Indian economy is mainly
agrarian in nature. The modern agriculture in India and elsewhere is based on
“(1) the varietal improvements in targeted crops, achieved through either conventional plant breeding or through genetic engineering and (2) increased utilization of
purchased inputs, such as inorganic fertilizers, agrochemical crop protection and
usually petroleum-derived energy to support larger-scale production with extensive
mechanization” (Uphoff 2015; Venkatramanan and Shah 2019). The bottom line is
that the agricultural activity has become more energy-intensive and it is a source of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agriculture is both a contributor and a victim of
climate change. However, the industrial revolution, population growth and unsustainable consumption pattern are the globally accepted reasons for the increased
GHG emissions. Increasing GHG emissions is a cause of concern. Anthropogenic
actions are responsible for the total GHG emissions of about 49 gigatonnes of CO 2 -
equivalent per year (GtCO 2 -eq/year) (Fig. 13.1) (IPCC 2014). CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O
together account for 80% of the total radiative forcing and their concentration is
reportedly increasing since the industrial revolution (Venkatramanan and Shah
2019). Human activities like “combustion of fossil fuel”, “land use changes” and
“agricultural activities” are responsible for the increasing concentration of these
three important GHGs. It is reported that “CO 2 increased by 40% from 278 ppm
about 1750 to 390.5 ppm in 2011. During the same time interval, CH 4 increased by
150% from 722 ppb to 1803 ppb, and N 2 O by 20% from 271 ppb to 324.2 ppb in
2011” (Ciais et al. 2013). While the causes for increase in methane were “natural
wetlands emissions, agriculture, waste management, biomass and biofuel burning”
(Venkatramanan and Shah 2019), the nitrous oxide emissions increased due to
“nitrification and de-nitrification reactions occurring in soils and in the ocean”
(Ciais et al. 2013). Indiscriminate use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers is
also equally contributing to climate change through GHG emissions. In effect, the
agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sectors contribute about 10–12 Gt
of CO 2 -equivalent per year. As regard the AFOLU sector, the driving factors for
GHG emissions are land use changes, enteric fermentation, rice cultivation, crop
286
G. Dheebakaran et al.