Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns
- Autores
- Rotolo, Gloria Claudia; Francis, C.A.; Craviotto, Roque Mario; Ulgiati, Sergio
- Año de publicación
- 2015
- Idioma
- inglés
- Tipo de recurso
- artículo
- Estado
- versión publicada
- Descripción
- The evolution of maize production patterns in Argentina is evaluated over the last 25 years to compare costs, benefits, environmental performance and sustainability as well as to identify the main driving sources and improvement potential. Results from Argentina cropping systems are compared to other systems worldwide in order to put the Argentina results in a broader context. The study focuses on three farming categories: (1) traditional, low-intensity systems, (2) conventional, high-intensity systems, and (3) GMO-based cropping systems. Low input intensity systems include traditional cropping patterns with seed selection by farmers and conventional hybrid seed coupled to plowing and crop-animal rotation techniques; high input intensity systems use conventional hybrid seeds and recommended chemicals, irrigation and machinery with important soil erosion consequences; and GMO-based cropping systems use herbicide resistant transgenic hybrids, pesticides, higher fertilizer rates, and no-till practices. In each of the three cases, input flows are compared to the achieved yield (in mass and income terms) to better understand relative efficiencies and options for improvement. The study of GMO systems required a preliminary investigation of GMO seed production by seed companies, where a large investment in terms of prior knowledge and high-tech laboratory research is required. The assessments used the Emergy Accounting (EMA) approach. EMA includes material, energy, labor, money, and knowledge flows into the assessment and expands its focus over larger time and spatial scales than conventional economic and cumulative energy demand methods. Emergy-based environmental indicators of grain production for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems both show a lower performance than low-intensity, traditional patterns in terms of resource return, renewability and sustainability. The fraction of renewability in low-intensity systems is between 28% and 63%, while it is between 8% and 26% for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems. Calculated indicators also show that GMO-based maize production patterns do not guarantee the expected improvement over conventional high-intensity cropping systems or low-intensity systems in terms of performance and sustainability. Strong reliance on nonrenewable resources and technology, as well as role of direct and indirect labor costs are important factors in determining long-term sustainability and environmental stability of maize production systems.
EEA Oliveros
Fil: Rotolo, Gloria Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; Argentina
Fil: Francis, C.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; Estados Unidos. Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Department of Plant Science; Noruega
Fil: Craviotto, Roque Mario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; Argentina
Fil: Ulgiati, S. Parthenope University. Department of Sciences and Technologies; Italia - Fuente
- Ecological Indicators 57 : 48-60. (October 2015)
- Materia
-
Maíz
Organismos Modificados Genéticamente
Ordenación de Cultivos
Medio Ambiente
Evaluación
Assessment
Maize
Genetically Modified Organisms
Cropping Patterns
Environment - Nivel de accesibilidad
- acceso restringido
- Condiciones de uso
- Repositorio
- Institución
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
- OAI Identificador
- oai:localhost:20.500.12123/2508
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Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patternsRotolo, Gloria ClaudiaFrancis, C.A.Craviotto, Roque MarioUlgiati, SergioMaízOrganismos Modificados GenéticamenteOrdenación de CultivosMedio AmbienteEvaluaciónAssessmentMaizeGenetically Modified OrganismsCropping PatternsEnvironmentThe evolution of maize production patterns in Argentina is evaluated over the last 25 years to compare costs, benefits, environmental performance and sustainability as well as to identify the main driving sources and improvement potential. Results from Argentina cropping systems are compared to other systems worldwide in order to put the Argentina results in a broader context. The study focuses on three farming categories: (1) traditional, low-intensity systems, (2) conventional, high-intensity systems, and (3) GMO-based cropping systems. Low input intensity systems include traditional cropping patterns with seed selection by farmers and conventional hybrid seed coupled to plowing and crop-animal rotation techniques; high input intensity systems use conventional hybrid seeds and recommended chemicals, irrigation and machinery with important soil erosion consequences; and GMO-based cropping systems use herbicide resistant transgenic hybrids, pesticides, higher fertilizer rates, and no-till practices. In each of the three cases, input flows are compared to the achieved yield (in mass and income terms) to better understand relative efficiencies and options for improvement. The study of GMO systems required a preliminary investigation of GMO seed production by seed companies, where a large investment in terms of prior knowledge and high-tech laboratory research is required. The assessments used the Emergy Accounting (EMA) approach. EMA includes material, energy, labor, money, and knowledge flows into the assessment and expands its focus over larger time and spatial scales than conventional economic and cumulative energy demand methods. Emergy-based environmental indicators of grain production for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems both show a lower performance than low-intensity, traditional patterns in terms of resource return, renewability and sustainability. The fraction of renewability in low-intensity systems is between 28% and 63%, while it is between 8% and 26% for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems. Calculated indicators also show that GMO-based maize production patterns do not guarantee the expected improvement over conventional high-intensity cropping systems or low-intensity systems in terms of performance and sustainability. Strong reliance on nonrenewable resources and technology, as well as role of direct and indirect labor costs are important factors in determining long-term sustainability and environmental stability of maize production systems.EEA OliverosFil: Rotolo, Gloria Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; ArgentinaFil: Francis, C.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; Estados Unidos. Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Department of Plant Science; NoruegaFil: Craviotto, Roque Mario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; ArgentinaFil: Ulgiati, S. Parthenope University. Department of Sciences and Technologies; Italia2018-05-29T14:59:13Z2018-05-29T14:59:13Z2015-10info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X15001661http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25081470-160Xhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.036Ecological Indicators 57 : 48-60. (October 2015)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess2025-09-29T13:44:19Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/2508instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2025-09-29 13:44:19.872INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
title |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
spellingShingle |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns Rotolo, Gloria Claudia Maíz Organismos Modificados Genéticamente Ordenación de Cultivos Medio Ambiente Evaluación Assessment Maize Genetically Modified Organisms Cropping Patterns Environment |
title_short |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
title_full |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
title_fullStr |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
title_sort |
Environmental assessment of maize production alternatives: Traditional, intensive and GMO-based cropping patterns |
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Rotolo, Gloria Claudia Francis, C.A. Craviotto, Roque Mario Ulgiati, Sergio |
author |
Rotolo, Gloria Claudia |
author_facet |
Rotolo, Gloria Claudia Francis, C.A. Craviotto, Roque Mario Ulgiati, Sergio |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Francis, C.A. Craviotto, Roque Mario Ulgiati, Sergio |
author2_role |
author author author |
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Maíz Organismos Modificados Genéticamente Ordenación de Cultivos Medio Ambiente Evaluación Assessment Maize Genetically Modified Organisms Cropping Patterns Environment |
topic |
Maíz Organismos Modificados Genéticamente Ordenación de Cultivos Medio Ambiente Evaluación Assessment Maize Genetically Modified Organisms Cropping Patterns Environment |
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv |
The evolution of maize production patterns in Argentina is evaluated over the last 25 years to compare costs, benefits, environmental performance and sustainability as well as to identify the main driving sources and improvement potential. Results from Argentina cropping systems are compared to other systems worldwide in order to put the Argentina results in a broader context. The study focuses on three farming categories: (1) traditional, low-intensity systems, (2) conventional, high-intensity systems, and (3) GMO-based cropping systems. Low input intensity systems include traditional cropping patterns with seed selection by farmers and conventional hybrid seed coupled to plowing and crop-animal rotation techniques; high input intensity systems use conventional hybrid seeds and recommended chemicals, irrigation and machinery with important soil erosion consequences; and GMO-based cropping systems use herbicide resistant transgenic hybrids, pesticides, higher fertilizer rates, and no-till practices. In each of the three cases, input flows are compared to the achieved yield (in mass and income terms) to better understand relative efficiencies and options for improvement. The study of GMO systems required a preliminary investigation of GMO seed production by seed companies, where a large investment in terms of prior knowledge and high-tech laboratory research is required. The assessments used the Emergy Accounting (EMA) approach. EMA includes material, energy, labor, money, and knowledge flows into the assessment and expands its focus over larger time and spatial scales than conventional economic and cumulative energy demand methods. Emergy-based environmental indicators of grain production for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems both show a lower performance than low-intensity, traditional patterns in terms of resource return, renewability and sustainability. The fraction of renewability in low-intensity systems is between 28% and 63%, while it is between 8% and 26% for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems. Calculated indicators also show that GMO-based maize production patterns do not guarantee the expected improvement over conventional high-intensity cropping systems or low-intensity systems in terms of performance and sustainability. Strong reliance on nonrenewable resources and technology, as well as role of direct and indirect labor costs are important factors in determining long-term sustainability and environmental stability of maize production systems. EEA Oliveros Fil: Rotolo, Gloria Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; Argentina Fil: Francis, C.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; Estados Unidos. Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Department of Plant Science; Noruega Fil: Craviotto, Roque Mario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Oliveros; Argentina Fil: Ulgiati, S. Parthenope University. Department of Sciences and Technologies; Italia |
description |
The evolution of maize production patterns in Argentina is evaluated over the last 25 years to compare costs, benefits, environmental performance and sustainability as well as to identify the main driving sources and improvement potential. Results from Argentina cropping systems are compared to other systems worldwide in order to put the Argentina results in a broader context. The study focuses on three farming categories: (1) traditional, low-intensity systems, (2) conventional, high-intensity systems, and (3) GMO-based cropping systems. Low input intensity systems include traditional cropping patterns with seed selection by farmers and conventional hybrid seed coupled to plowing and crop-animal rotation techniques; high input intensity systems use conventional hybrid seeds and recommended chemicals, irrigation and machinery with important soil erosion consequences; and GMO-based cropping systems use herbicide resistant transgenic hybrids, pesticides, higher fertilizer rates, and no-till practices. In each of the three cases, input flows are compared to the achieved yield (in mass and income terms) to better understand relative efficiencies and options for improvement. The study of GMO systems required a preliminary investigation of GMO seed production by seed companies, where a large investment in terms of prior knowledge and high-tech laboratory research is required. The assessments used the Emergy Accounting (EMA) approach. EMA includes material, energy, labor, money, and knowledge flows into the assessment and expands its focus over larger time and spatial scales than conventional economic and cumulative energy demand methods. Emergy-based environmental indicators of grain production for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems both show a lower performance than low-intensity, traditional patterns in terms of resource return, renewability and sustainability. The fraction of renewability in low-intensity systems is between 28% and 63%, while it is between 8% and 26% for high-intensity hybrid and GMO systems. Calculated indicators also show that GMO-based maize production patterns do not guarantee the expected improvement over conventional high-intensity cropping systems or low-intensity systems in terms of performance and sustainability. Strong reliance on nonrenewable resources and technology, as well as role of direct and indirect labor costs are important factors in determining long-term sustainability and environmental stability of maize production systems. |
publishDate |
2015 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2015-10 2018-05-29T14:59:13Z 2018-05-29T14:59:13Z |
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X15001661 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/2508 1470-160X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.036 |
url |
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X15001661 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/2508 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.036 |
identifier_str_mv |
1470-160X |
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
eu_rights_str_mv |
restrictedAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Ecological Indicators 57 : 48-60. (October 2015) reponame:INTA Digital (INTA) instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria |
reponame_str |
INTA Digital (INTA) |
collection |
INTA Digital (INTA) |
instname_str |
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar |
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1844619122548146176 |
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12.559606 |