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The impact of intelligent agricultural machinery on carbon emissions is multifaceted. The continuous breakthroughs and maturity of core technologies in intelligent agricultural machinery can significantly reduce carbon emissions, such as fertilization and pesticide application technologies, which have a significant improvement effect of over 20% on improving efficiency and reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides[13]. However, the contribution of intelligent agricultural machinery technology to carbon reduction is still constrained by the formulation of standards. If the application of intelligent agricultural machinery could not meet the standards, the results will contain great uncertainty. For example, improper use of electric agricultural machinery can cause great trouble due to battery pollution.
We would like to conclude that the impact of intelligent agricultural machinery on agricultural carbon reduction should be taken as a whole, to be specific, a life cycle perspective of agriculture system. It is inappropriate to exaggerate the role of intelligent agricultural machinery in a certain link, and we encourage evaluate the carbon reduction effect of intelligent agricultural machinery throughout the entire process from manufacturing to scrapping. The analysis results of the key technologies of intelligent agricultural machinery for carbon reduction are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Intelligent agricultural machinery for carbon reduction.
Production
processKey technologies Intelligence level Cost Application scenario Assessment of carbon reduction potential Tillage Deep cultivation monitoring Very advanced General Grain and oil production Great potential Laser leveling Advanced General Grain and oil production Great potential Sowing Monitoring of seeding blockage Advanced General Grain and oil production Average potential Seeding overlap monitoring Advanced High cost Grain and oil production Average potential Cultivation Precision fertilization technology Very advanced General Grain and oil production; Great potential Fruit and vegetable production Target spraying of herbicides Very advanced General Grain and oil production; Great potential Fruit and vegetable production Harvesting Automatic recording of production Advanced High cost Grain and oil production Average potential Phased harvest General High cost Grain and oil production Great potential Transportation Internet of Things field scheduling General High cost Fruit and vegetable production Great potential Rough processing on farmland General High cost Fruit and vegetable production Great potential The assessments in the table are based on survey data and author experience. -
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Cite this article
Ma W, Yang X, Tian Z. 2024. Agriculture neutralization: perspective from intelligent agricultural machinery. Circular Agricultural Systems 4: e002 doi: 10.48130/cas-0024-0002
Agriculture neutralization: perspective from intelligent agricultural machinery
- Received: 29 May 2023
- Revised: 28 December 2023
- Accepted: 30 December 2023
- Published online: 26 January 2024
Abstract: Against the background of climate change, exploring avoidable greenhouse gas emission from agriculture practices has gained public attention in the context of global energy transition. Intelligent agricultural machinery plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions in agriculture systems, and through the use of new energy, smart plant protection, and IoT technologies, carbon emissions can be significantly reduced. The focus of our debate is on the key role those intelligent technologies play, and what are the principles and shortcomings behind their effectiveness. What are the potential impacts of unmanned farms on agricultural carbon reduction and human survival issues in the future?