Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Science

Greenhouse gas benefits of agricultural irrigation far outweigh emissions costs, study finds

Irrigating U.S. crops prevents higher greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding land conversion, new research by Colorado State University shows. Agricultural irrigation allows the United States to grow more food on less land. If irrigation were suddenly shut off, the land-use change required to make up...

Greenhouse gas benefits of agricultural irrigation far outweigh emissions costs, study finds
Image: Phys.org
Irrigating U.S. crops prevents higher greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding land conversion, new research by Colorado State University shows. Agricultural irrigation allows the United States to grow more food on less land. If irrigation were suddenly shut off, the land-use change required to make up for lost yields would produce significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than irrigation emits—363 times more.

Originally published at Phys.org

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