Environmental hazards and energy flow in rapeseed agroecosystem Case study: North Khorasan

Investigating the potential global warming, greenhouse gas emissions and energy flow is one of the methods for comparing the agricultural systems in terms of environmental hazards. This research examines the energy flow and greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, N2O and CH4) in rapeseed in North khorasan province of Iran.

This research was studied separately in three regions of East, West and South in North Khorasan Province. Energy input values of rapeseed fields were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire in the 2020-2019 crop years.

The results showed that the total input energy was 33.33178 MJ.ha-1 and the total output energy was 128545.05 MJ.ha-1. Energy use efficiency was 3.87 and energy productivity was 0.06 kg/MJ.ha-1. Direct and indirect input energies were 61.77% and 38.23%, respectively, and renewable energies was 11.02% and non-renewable energies accounted 88.98% of the total energy input. The study of greenhouse gas emissions showed that CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions were estimated to be 1417.04, 3.09 and 1.90 kg.ha-1, respectively. The global warming potential was calculated as 2413.38 kg equivalent of carbon dioxide per hectare, with the share of CH41%, CO2 58% and N2O 41%.

The best area for rapeseed production in this province is the western area and the southern area is not a suitable area for the development of this crop. However, by managing energy consumption, planting date and managing the use of chemical fertilizers, energy efficiency in canola production in the southern region of North Khorasan province can be improved.