An assessment of the linkages between GM crop biotechnology and climate change mitigation

Figures & data

Table 1. Citation impact assessment matrix (# articles/average cites per year as of September 13, 2022).

Assessment Factors	Area	Change in chemical use/toxicity	Carbon sequestration	GHGs	Land use change	Soil health
Agronomy	1/6	15/36	3/9	5/6	2/4	9/6
Data	−	3/47	1/5	−	1/6	2/6
Genetics	−	13/12	1/3	3/13	2/10	−
Farm structure	−	−	−	−	−	−
Machinery	1/15	1/15	−	−	1/45	3/21
Policy	3/7	1/1	−	2/8	−	−

Figure 1. Canadian prairie summerfallow area, 1966–2022.

Source: Statistics Canada³⁷

Figure 2. Net GHG emissions/carbon sink in Saskatchewan’s crop sector, 1985–2016.

Source: Smyth and Awada³⁸

Table 2. Overview of the methods of evaluation.

MSM coding	Count	Average citations	Average age of literature (yrs)
1	4	42.5	16.5
2	25	103.4	10.9
3	21	129.3	9.1
4	10	163.5	11.2
5	5	77	7.0
6	0	na	na
7	9	547.5	11.8

Table 3. Citation analysis.

	Area	Chemicals	Carbon sequestration	GHG	Land use change	Soil health
Number of articles found	5	32	7	12	7	13
Average age (years)	8	11	11	10	12	11
MSM scale
Lowest	2	1	2	2	1	1
Highest	4	7	7	7	4	7
Average rating	2.8	3.2	3.6	3.8	2.7	3.6
Citations
Minimum		0	3	0	24	11
Maximum		7,430	2,582	281	626	452
Average	79	369	454	65	163	104
Average/year	8	26	25	6	13	10
Average to average/year	10	14	18	10	13	11
Average cites/year per MSM point	2.9	8.0	7.0	1.7	2.9	2.9

Source: Author’s calculations.

Statistic Canada. Table 32-10-0359-01, estimated areas, yield, production, average farm price and total farm value of principal field crops, in metric and imperial units. Ottawa, Canada: Queen’s Printer; 2022.

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Smyth SJ, Awada L). Assessment of Saskatchewan agricultural greenhouse gas emissions: sources, sinks and measures. Report submitted to the Global Institute for Food Security. 2018

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