Environmental impacts and resource use of milk production on the North China Plain, based on life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment methodology was used to quantify the environmental impacts and resource use of milk production on the North China Plain, the largest milk production area in China. Variation in environmental burden caused by cow productivity was evaluated, as well as scenario analysis of the ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2018-06, Vol.625, p.486-495
Main Authors: Wang, Xiaoqin, Ledgard, Stewart, Luo, Jiafa, Guo, Yongqin, Zhao, Zhanqin, Guo, Liang, Liu, Song, Zhang, Nannan, Duan, Xueqin, Ma, Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidification
Animals
Cattle
China
Dairy
Dairying
Environment
Eutrophication
Feed strategy
Female
Global Warming
Manure
Manure management
Milk
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Summary:Life cycle assessment methodology was used to quantify the environmental impacts and resource use of milk production on the North China Plain, the largest milk production area in China. Variation in environmental burden caused by cow productivity was evaluated, as well as scenario analysis of the effects of improvement practices. The results indicated that the average environmental impact potential and resource use for producing 1kg of fat and protein corrected milk was 1.34kgCO2eq., 9.27gPO43−eq., 19.5gSO2eq., 4.91MJ, 1.83m2 and 266L for global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential (EP), acidification potential (AP), non-renewable energy use (NREU), land use (LU) and blue water use (BWU; i.e. water withdrawal), respectively. Feed production was a significant determinant of GWP, NREU, LU and BWU, while AP and EP were mainly affected by manure management. Scenario analysis showed that reducing use of concentrates and substituting with alfalfa hay decreased GWP, EP, AP, NREU and LU (by 1.0%–5.5%), but caused a significant increase of BWU (by 17.2%). Using imported soybean instead of locally-grown soybean decreased LU by 2.6%, but significantly increased GWP and NREU by 20% and 6.9%, respectively. There was no single perfect manure management system, with variable effects from different management practices. The environmental burden shifting observed in this study illustrates the importance of assessing a wide range of impact categories instead of single or limited indicators for formulating environmental policies, and the necessity of combining multiple measures to decrease the environmental burden. For the North China Plain, improving milking cow productivity and herd structure (i.e. increased proportion of milking cows), combining various manure management systems, and encouraging dairy farmers to return manure to nearby crop lands are promising measures to decrease multiple environmental impacts. [Display omitted] •Environmental burden of milk production in China was evaluated using LCA.•Feed production significantly affected global warming, energy use, land use and blue water use.•Acidification and eutrophication potentials were determined by manure management.•Environmental burden can decrease with improved cow productivity and herd structure.•Environmental burden shifting was observed with different feeding options.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.259