A thermodynamic approach for assessing agroecosystem sustainability |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Sustainable Science Management, University of Hawai‘i Maui College, 310 W. Ka‘ahumanu Ave, Kahului, HI 96732-1617, USA;2. Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science, University of Kansas, 1475 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045-7613, USA;3. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, 3310 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, NE 68583-0968, USA;1. College of Resource and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China;2. Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China;1. National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, P.O. Box 577, Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan;2. Department of Chemistry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan;3. Institute of Chemistry, University of The Punjab, Quaid-i-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan;4. National Center for Physics, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan;1. Grassland Institute of Animal Science and Technology College, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;2. USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Lab, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-6300, USA;1. Department of Plant Pathology and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0680, USA;2. Department of Life and Environmental Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, China;3. Open Research Key Laboratory of Water and Land Resources in Arid-semiarid Regions of Ministry of Land and Resources, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China;4. Department of Microbiology, Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, 119899 Vorob’evy Gory, Moscow, Russia;5. Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science of RAS, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia;6. Department of Plant Sciences, Biological Farming Systems Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | By revisiting theoretical concepts in biogeography and the importance of thermodynamic laws in biosphere-atmosphere interactions, ecological sustainability in agricultural systems may be better defined. In this case study, we employed a multidisciplinary methodology for exploring agroecosystem sustainability by using eddy covariance (EC) data to compute thermodynamic entropy production (σ) and relate it to water, energy and carbon cycling in croplands and grasslands of the Central US. From 2002 to 2012, the biophysical metric of σ was compared across AmeriFlux sites, each with site-specific land management practices of irrigation, crop rotation, and tillage. Results show that σ is most correlated with net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon, and when cropland and grassland sites are close to being carbon neutral, σ values range from 0.51–1.0 W K−1 m−2 for grasslands, 0.81–1.0 W K−1 m−2 for rainfed croplands, and 0.81–1.1 W K−1 m−2 for irrigated croplands. Irrigated maize stressed by hydrologic and high temperature anomalies associated with the 2012 drought exhibit the greatest increase in σ, indicating the possibility of decreased sustainability compared to rainfed croplands and grasslands. These results suggest that maximizing carbon uptake with irrigation and fertilizer use tends to move agroecosystems further away from thermodynamic equilibrium, which has implications for ecological sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation in climate-smart agriculture. The underlying theoretical concepts, multidisciplinary methodology, and use of eddy covariance data for biophysical indicators in this study contribute to a unique understanding of ecological sustainability in agricultural systems. |
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| Keywords: | Biophysical indicators Climate-smart agriculture Drought Irrigation Thermodynamic entropy AmeriFlux |
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