Assessing the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation in intensively managed annual cropping systems at the regional scale

We predicted changes in yields and direct net soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from converting conventional to alternative management practices across one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, the Central Valley of California, using the DAYCENT model. Alternative practices included conservation tillage, winter cover cropping, manure application, a 25% reduction in N fertilizer input and combinations of these. Alternative practices were evaluated for all unique combinations of crop rotation, climate, and soil types for the period 1997-2006. The crops included were alfalfa, corn, cotton, melon, safflower, sunflower, tomato, and wheat. Our predictions indicate that, adopting alternative management practices would decrease yields up to 5%. Changes in modeled SOC and net soil GHG fluxes corresponded to values reported in the literature. Average potential reductions of net soil GHG fluxes with alternative practices ranged from −0.7 to −3.3 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the Sacramento Valley and −0.5 to −2.5 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for the San Joaquin Valley. While adopting a single alternative practice led to modest net soil GHG flux reductions (on average −1 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), combining two or more of these practices led to greater decreases in net soil GHG fluxes of up to −3 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. At the regional scale, the combination of winter cover cropping with manure application was particularly efficient in reducing GHG emissions. However, GHG mitigation potentials were mostly non-permanent because 60-80% of the decreases in net soil GHG fluxes were attributed to increases in SOC, except for the reduced fertilizer input practice, where reductions were mainly attributed to decreased N₂O emissions. In conclusion, there are long-term GHG mitigation potentials within agriculture, but spatial and temporal aggregation will be necessary to reduce uncertainties around GHG emission reductions and the delivery risk of the associated C credits.     

CO2 emission reduction for Japanese petrochemicals

Energy efficiency in the Japanese industry is one of the highest in the world. As a consequence, reduction of CO₂ emissions is considered to be difficult and costly. However little attention has been paid as of yet to changes related to so-called non-energy use of fossil fuels. The analysis in this paper suggests that a large number of options exist for emission reduction in the Japanese petrochemical industry. This includes the introduction of biomass feedstocks, the introduction of new catalytic production processes, and changes in waste handling. The use of bioplastics and the use of CO₂ feedstocks seem costly options for GHG emission reduction that should not be applied on the short term. Japanese GHG emissions can be reduced by 7.7% if the optimal set of emission mitigation options is applied. About 60 Mt emission reduction (4.9%) can be achieved by changes on the supply side, another 35 Mt emission reduction (2.8%) can be achieved by changes in waste management. While changes in waste management can be implemented before 2010, biomass introduction on the supply side will probably require a longer lead-time. About half of the emission reduction is cost–effective, but will require further technology development. The other half can be achieved at a cost level of 10,000 yen/t CO₂ (80 US$/t CO₂). The latter part is based on proven technology that is currently not cost–effective.     

Improving agricultural sustainability: the case of Swedish greenhouse tomatoes

Of major concern to agriculturists and society are issues of sustainability and land and resource requirements for food and fiber. Sustainability of Swedish domestic agriculture is explored using the production of tomatoes in greenhouses as a case study. Issues of sustainability are related to net yields, environmental loading, greenhouse gases, employment and land use. A model for evaluation of sustainability is developed and illustrated using the concepts and theories of analysis. The intensive tomato production system investigated was shown to be highly dependent on non-renewable resources and human service fed back from society. Substituting wood powder from logging residues for the oil used for heating reduced the environmental load and improved the sustainability of the system significantly.     

碳减排问题刍议

全球气候变化对人类的生存和发展造成的负面影响已是一个不争的事实。将减少碳排放量融入可持续发展已成为全世界的共识。文章主要从宏观的角度,通过追溯国际碳减排任务的确定、减排发展机制产生的历史背景和我国碳排放现状及趋势分析,论述了国际碳减排方式对我国的机遇和挑战。     

Sustainable recovery of nickel from spent hydrogenation catalyst: economics, emissions and wastes assessment

Economic viability, carbon emission profile and waste management associated with nickel recovery from spent hydrogenation catalysts are studied from sustainability perspectives. The purpose is to determine and compare the economic, environmental and social implications of different nickel reclamation techniques towards clean, safe and sustainable recovery of nickel from spent catalysts. Sustainability evaluation models are formulated to understand and improve the cost, carbon footprint and resource efficiency of a closed-loop nickel recovery process. The economic viability of the process highly depends on market values of recovered nickel and the production batch size. At a selling price higher than $12.60/kg, an operation with a batch size as small as 50 kg/batch would be profitable. The current rising nickel market, at ∼$18-24/kg, favors recovery operations although it also casts a dual effect on production costs. About 73-82% of carbon emission of the process is from the use of energy in the recovery operation. Energy efficiency is therefore identified as the most critical factor to improve the carbon footprint. The closed-loop process also improves resource use efficiency and minimizes toxic waste generation.     

物系管理与可持续发展

该文回顾德国自60年代以来,从“末端治理型”环保政策到现在提出“物系管理”的发展变化,介绍了德国环境保护工作的成功与不足。从物系管理的产生背景出发,探讨了物系管理的概念、意义、应用实践、面临的困难。此外,该文还阐明物系管理可以成为促进中国可持续发展的一个及时、有效的工具。     

土地资源可持续利用研究

坚持土地资源的可持续利用对经济发展与社会安定至关重要文章从可持结发展的概念出发介绍了土地资源可持续的含义与评价标准，分析了其实现存在的障碍，进而从认识，管理和科技角度提出了相应的对策。     

Estimation of biomass distribution in Peninsular Malaysia and in the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo based on multi-resolution remote sensing land cover analysis

In this study we used high resolution (20 m) land cover maps to derive detailed information on land cover structure within the classes of a regional medium resolution (500 m) land cover map. This enabled improved biomass estimation for the medium resolution land cover classes. Although our results suggested that land cover maps based merely on medium resolution remote sensing data can be used to monitor the extent of forest cover, they also showed that these maps alone are not sufficient to produce reliable regional estimates on above ground biomass in insular Southeast Asia. A quarter of the study area was covered by sub-pixel size (500 m) mosaic of various land cover types containing 14% of biomass. In total, non-forest areas covered over 60% of the study area and included 43% of biomass. In these areas, highly fragmented within class land cover structure was shown to significantly affect biomass estimates. Therefore we conclude that forest/land cover monitoring based merely on medium resolution remote sensing data can no longer be used to sufficiently quantify carbon fluxes connected to land cover changes in insular Southeast Asia, but multi-resolution approaches are needed to perform this task.     

无锡市碳排放的因素分解模型及实证分析

在计算无锡市2000~2011年二氧化碳排放量的基础上,采用对数平均权重Divisia分解法,建立无锡市人均碳排放的因素分解模型,定量分析能源结构、能源效率、经济发展情况等因素对无锡市人均碳排放的影响。结果显示经济发展对拉动无锡人均碳排放的贡献率呈指数增长趋势,相比之下,能源效率及能源结构对碳排放的抑制作用并不明显。据此提出开发可再生能源,转变能源消费结构,发展清洁煤技术,提高能源利用率等对策。     

中国能源消费和碳排放特征研究

基于中国能源消费数据,采用IPCC报告中碳排放估算方法,对我国1978～2010年的能源消费和碳排放特征进行研究。结果显示:中国能源消费和碳排放总量增幅较大,2010年中国能源消费量和二氧化碳排放量分别达到32.5亿t和76.13亿t,但是能源强度和碳强度总体上呈下降趋势;不论是总量上还是强度上,能源消费和碳排放的地区差异均较大。     

2005～2009年南京市二氧化碳排放特征研究

采用IPCC报告(2006版)提供的计量方法与碳含量缺省值,对南京市能源消费碳排放进行了计量研究.结果表明:从2005～2009年,CO2排放总量从8.05×107t增加到1.02×108t,人均CO2排放量从11.7 t/a增加到13.2 t/a,但CO2排放强度持续降低,从3.34 t/万元下降到2.41 t/万元...     

实现秸秆资源化利用的主要途径

随着我国农村经济的发展和能源供应的改善，部分经济较发达地区出现了秸秆过剩的现象，田间直接燃烧秸秆造成了严重的环境问题。文章认为秸秆作为农业的副产品，是一种有用的资源。介绍了4种秸秆资源化利用的途径，包括能源利用技术、肥料利用技术、饲料利用技术以及用于工业原料的技术。     

碳源强化对人工湿地反硝化过程的影响研究

反硝化是人工湿地去除硝酸盐氮的主要机制,高含氮污水中低碳氮比是导致脱氮效果低的主要原因.研究了添加碳源对人工湿地反硝化过程的强化效果,结果表明,外界温度对湿地内的反硝化影响不大,而碳源则是重要的影响因素,对湿地投加碳源可以显著提高湿地的硝氮去除能力,在进水硝氮浓度25~45 mg · L-1,24 h水力停留时间的条件下,投加约30~50 mg · L-1(DOC)的碳源后,夏季的去除率从30％提升至60％以上,冬季的去除率从5％提升至35％以上.但是,投加碳源会导致出水中的亚硝氮产生轻度积累.通过多种途径对反硝化进行强化后,人工湿地对硝氮的去除能力最大可在5 g · m-2 · d-1以上.     

土壤水分和氮素水平对春小麦水分与氮素利用效率的影响

以抗旱性不同的三个春小麦品种为材料,研究它们在不同水氮水平下水分利用效率(WUE)和氮素利用效率(NUE)的变化,探讨二者间的相关性。结果表明:三个品种中,和尚头和定西35号的WUE相当,而定西35号的NUE最高。三个春小麦品种叶片NUE均随施氮量增加而降低,整株水平的NUE与氮素水平负相关。施氮量对春小麦叶片光合作用的瞬时WUE影响不显著,整株WUE与施氮量显著正相关。水氮耦合作用对春小麦NUE具有重要影响,整株NUE对水分条件的响应表现出明显的氮水平依赖性。春小麦品种氮素利用和水分利用两个生理过程之间存在\"负偶联\"关系。     

浅析汽车节能减排现状

随着我国汽车保有量的迅速增加,汽车增长带来的能源和环保问题日益突出,机动车节能减排是一项长期的、复杂的工作,不仅要从汽车生产技术上进行控制,在政策层面上也需要一系列的措施来进行限制。文章分别介绍了国外和国内的汽车节能减排技术和政策方面的状况。     

碳中和——中国发展转型的机遇与挑战

碳中和是《巴黎协定》提出的到21世纪末在全球范围内实现人为活动排放的温室气体排放总量与大自然吸收总量相平衡,这是《联合国气候变化框架公约》应对气候变化问题的终极目标。本文从碳中和的目的、本质和进展分析入手,提出了在实现碳中和问题上中国的机遇与挑战。