Greenhouse Gas Emission Assessment and Decarbonisation Pathways for Winter Wheat Cultivation: A Case Study from Ukraine

Abstract

The agricultural sector is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine. This study aims to estimate GHG emissions from different tillage practices for wheat cultivation and to propose effective mitigation pathways for decarbonization. The study was carried out on a farm in the Poltava region (the Northeastern Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine). The results showed that conventional technology generated 319.24 t CO2e, primarily driven by mineral fertiliser synthesis (47.63%) and soil denitrification (34.5%). No-Till technology reduced total emissions by 16.73% (265.8 t CO2e) by cutting field operation emissions and promoting soil carbon sequestration (-27.3 t CO2e). Conventional technology with organic manure demonstrated the highest level of intensive carbon fixation (-252.51 t CO2e; 44.29% of total footprint), but total emissions were 570.14 t CO2e due to the high energy intensity of manure logistics and transport. Therefore, No-Till technology could be a promising pathway for implementing low-carbon agricultural development while restoring soil fertility in the long term.