Carbon and reactive nitrogen footprint of greenhouse versus open-field vegetable production in China

Global greenhouse vegetables production has grown substantially and will play a critical role in meeting future global vegetable demand. However, the environmental performance of large-scale greenhouse vegetable production compared to open-field cultivation remains unclear. Through carbon and reactive nitrogen footprint analysis of provincial-scale vegetable production in China, we show that greenhouse production has mixed performances, with benefits smaller than observed in many experiments. Greenhouse vegetables have higher yields (16 % to 50 %) and lower reactive nitrogen footprints (-6 % to -33 %), but much higher carbon footprints (5 % to 46 %), than open-field vegetables. By analyzing extensive experiment data, however, we find that adopting improved fertilizer and irrigation management practices can substantially increase yields while reducing carbon and reactive nitrogen footprints (by 33% and 37 %) in greenhouses, as well as in open-fields. Our study indicates that the environmental sustainability of greenhouse vegetable in China can be improved, thus contributing to potential global dietary transitions.