Introduction of grass-clover crops as biogas feedstock in cereal-dominated crop rotations. Part II: Effects on greenhouse gas emissions

In an analysis of climate effects, increased soil organic carbon will have a dual effect due to both increased soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Even so, soil carbon changes are neglected in many crop production LCAs. In the present study, the introduction of grass-clover crops in cereal-dominated crop production was evaluated. The grass-clover crops were used for biogas production, and the digested residue was recycled to the farm as biofertilizer. A shift from the cereal-dominated crop rotation to integrated production of food crops and one or two years of grass-clover crops used as biogas feedstock would result in avoided emissions of 2-3 t CO2-eq. ha-1 a-1. Integrated food and energy crop production would in this case improve soil organic carbon content at the same time as resulting in considerably decreased greenhouse gas emissions from the cultivation system.