ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Contribution of Legume-Derived Biological
Nitrogen Fixation in Reducing Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Originating from Agriculture
in Türkiye
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Department of Field Crop, Faculty of Agriculture, Selcuk University, Konya, 42025, Türkiye
Submission date: 2023-09-02
Final revision date: 2023-09-29
Acceptance date: 2023-10-02
Online publication date: 2023-11-23
Publication date: 2024-01-22
Corresponding author
Abdullah Özköse
Field Crops, Selçuk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Konya, Turkey
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(2):1337-1345
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ABSTRACT
Nitrogen fertilizer production and use contribute to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
GHGs due to nitrogen (N) fertilizer use can be reduced to a certain extent with legume agriculture.
This study was conducted to estimate the amount of N produced by biological N fixation (BNF)
in legumes grown in Türkiye, the amount of synthetic N fertilizer corresponding to this amount
of N, and the global GHG emission equivalent of the production, transport, and use of this fertilizer
in the field. Firstly, the amount of N fixed by BNF in a year in legume cultivation areas in Türkiye
was calculated. Then, the GHG equivalents emitted during the production, transport, and application
in the field of synthetic N fertilizers, which is the equivalent of N fixed by BNF, were calculated.
The total amount of N fixed with BNF in 2022 in Türkiye is 363,354 tons. The total GHGs emissions
during the production, transport, and use of N fertilizer equivalent to 363354 t of N fixed by BNF
is 2,631,043 tons CO2-eq. In other words, in one year in Türkiye, 2,631,043 tons of CO2-eq GHGs
will be reduced thanks to legume agriculture. GHG emissions of the Turkish agricultural sector
(total 72.1 Mt CO2-eq) have been reduced by about 3.65% (2.63 Mt CO2-eq). For an economically and
environmentally sustainable agriculture, we need to give more importance to the cultivation of pulses.