Supporting sustainable intensification in the Canadian field crop sector: Advancing life cycle assessment methods and applications to identify priority technologies for resource efficiency and emissions reduction objectives

2014年，农业食品部门贡献了加拿大GDP的6.6%，提供了八分之一的就业机会，创造了超过1080亿美元的收入。2017年，大田作物的种植面积超过4900万公顷，占农业现金收入的34%。因此，大田作物是该部门的支柱。与此同时，人们越来越认识到，田间作物生产既是我们许多最紧迫的可持续性挑战（对土地、水和能源的竞争，也是温室气体排放和养分污染的来源）的根源，也是解决方案的潜在来源。可持续集约化是指在减少对环境的影响的同时，在相同面积的土地上生产更多的产品。该研究项目将支持加拿大大田作物部门有效、高效、以科学为基础的可持续集约化工作。研究将侧重于评价和比较加拿大主要大田作物的新兴可持续集约化技术（特别是精准农业技术），这些技术可能支持大田作物生产方式的系统性变化以及随之而来的对可持续性结果的影响。具体而言，本研究将：(1)推进最先进的农业食品生命周期评估（LCA）方法和数据，并利用这些方法和数据创建一套区域分辨模型，以表征加拿大五种主要大田作物（油菜、小麦、大豆、大麦和玉米）的生产，同时考虑到区域气候、土壤和生产技术变量(2)识别和评估（使用LCA）每种大田作物当前和新兴的可持续集约化技术。包括（例如）精确营养和作物保护产品的应用、灌溉和耕作策略，并确定跨部门技术转让的机会(3)为每种作物制定特定区域的可持续集约化技术部署建议(4)开发用户友好的决策支持工具，使行业协会、农民、和其他价值链利益相关者确定并实施适当的可持续集约化技术方案。这些研究活动将共同确保在田间作物部门的可持续集约化机会中进行严格、系统和透明的优先排序，为制定特定部门和全行业的可持续集约化技术部署战略和里程碑提供基础。反过来，这将有助于提高加拿大农业食品利益相关者的盈利能力和社会许可，并使加拿大大田作物产业在全球农业食品部门的可持续集约化倡议中发挥领导作用。

The agri-food sector contributed 6.6% of Canada's GDP in 2014, providing one in eight jobs and generating over 108 billion dollars. The production of field crops, which occupied over 49 million hectares in 2017, represents 34% of farm cash receipts. As such, field crops are the backbone of this sector. At the same time, field crop production is increasingly recognized as both the originator of many of our most pressing sustainability challenges (competition for land, water and energy and as a source of GHG emissions and nutrient pollution) as well as a potential source of solutions. Sustainable intensification refers to producing more from the same area of land while, at the same time, reducing environmental impacts. This program of research will support effective and efficient, science-based sustainable intensification efforts in the Canadian field crop sector. The research will focus on evaluation and comparison of emerging sustainable intensification technologies (in particular, precision agriculture technologies) for the major Canadian field crops that may support systemic changes in how field crops are produced and the attendant implications for sustainability outcomes.Specifically, this research will:(1) advance state-of-the-art agri-food life cycle assessment (LCA) methods and data and use these to create a set of regionally-resolved models to characterize the production of the five major fields crops in Canada (canola, wheat, soy, barley, and corn), taking into account regional climatic, soil and production technology variables(2) identify and assess (using LCA) current and emerging sustainable intensification technologies for each field crop, including (for example), precision nutrient and crop protection product application, irrigation, and tillage strategies, and identify opportunities for cross-sector technology transfer(3) develop regionally-specific sustainable intensification technology deployment recommendations for each crop(4) develop a user-friendly decision-support tool to enable industry associations, farmers, and other value chain stakeholders to identify and implement appropriate sustainable intensification technology optionsThese research activities will together enable rigorous, systematic and transparent prioritization among sustainable intensification opportunities in the field crops sector, providing the basis for developing sector-specific and industry-wide strategies and milestones for sustainable intensification technology deployment. This will, in turn, contribute to both enhancing the profitability and social license of Canadian agri-food stakeholders and to positioning the Canadian field crop industry to take a leadership role globally in sustainable intensification initiatives in the agri-food sector.