Gerhard Brankatschk provides solutions for methodological limitations of agricultural Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). The author solves challenges of attributing multifunctionality (co-products) and temporal system boundaries (crop rotations) of agricultural systems by establishing two new Life Cycle Inventory methodologies, which conform to ISO-standards on LCA. The new methods help to assess temporal, spatial, and multifunctional complexity of agricultural systems and to improve the reliability of life cycle based sustainability assessments of agriculture.

LCA methods for addressing the complexity of agriculture.

Autorentext

Gerhard Brankatschk holds a doctoral degree from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, and is an engineer for land use and water resource management.

Inhalt

Challenges in LCA for Agricultural Systems.- Application of the Cereal Unit in a New Allocation Procedure for Agricultural LCAs.- Modeling Crop Rotation in Agricultural LCAs.- Crop Rotations and Crop Residues are Relevant Parameters for Agricultural Carbon Footprints.- International Initiatives on Global Challenges for Agriculture.