Work

Towards better understanding the economic and environmental sustainability of alternative agricultural cropping production systems through integrated modelling

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We explore and develop an integrated model to enhance understanding and evaluation of the economic and environmental sustainability performance of alternative agricultural cropping production systems. More specifically, our developed Environmentally Sustainable Residual Income Decomposition Modelling (ESRIDM) integrates accounting decomposition analysis, Water and Economic Sustainability Performance Measurement (WESM), system thinking, modular thinking, Environmentally Sustainable Residual Income (ESRI) theory, into a holistic modelling system influenced by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) approaches. The ESRIDM is theorised and applied in the context of nitrogen management in Australian Cotton production through a detailed case study and comparative analysis of three nitrogen fertiliser options. We find the ESRIDM is able to: (i) provide an overall assessment of the economic and environmental sustainability performance of each scenario modelled; (ii) increase the transparency of the production system to enable the identification of key issues which influence the likely suitability of each scenario; (iii) enable an analysis of probable outcomes under various alternatives; (iv) evaluate the feasibility of regulatory option modelled. While this paper offers a novel perspective to a specific context, ESRIDM is designed to be adapted to a variety of contexts with a view to contributing to the evolution of more sustainable systems of production more generally.

Source: Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143917

Authors: Yujie Liang, Paul J. Brown, Christopher Bajada, Hannah Pham

Institution: University of Technology Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis

Subfield: Environmental Chemistry

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Zero hunger, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,260