Investigation of Energy Consumption and Associated CO2 Emissions for Wheat–Rice Crop Rotation Farming

Abstract

This study investigates the input–output energy-flow patterns and CO2 emissions from the wheat–rice crop rotation system. In this regard, an arid region of Punjab, Pakistan was selected as the study area, comprising 4150 km2. Farmers were interviewed to collect data and information on input/output sources during the 2020 work season. The total energy from these sources was calculated using appropriate energy equivalents. Three energy indices, including energy use efficiency (ηe), energy productivity (ηp), and net energy (ρ), were defined and calculated to investigate overall energy efficiency. Moreover, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique was used to optimize the input energy in wheat and rice production. Finally, CO2 emissions was calculated using emissions equivalents from peer-reviewed published literature. Results showed that the average total energy consumption in rice production was twice the energy consumed in wheat production. However, the values of ηe, ηp, and ρ were higher in wheat production and calculated as 5.68, 202.3 kg/GJ, and 100.12 GJ/ha, respectively. The DEA showed the highest reduction potential in machinery energy for both crops, calculated as −42.97% in rice production and −17.48% in wheat production. The highest CO2 emissions were found in rice production and calculated as 1762.5 kg-CO2/ha. Our conclusion indicates that energy consumption and CO2 emissions from wheat–rice cropping systems can be minimized using optimized energy inputs.