The potential of world cropland soils to sequester C and mitigate the greenhouse effect

Soil emission of CO₂ is closely linked to soil degradation, decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) content and decline in soil quality. Enhancing soil quality through adoption of best management practices (BMPs) and soil restoration can increase SOC content and soil productivity, and partially mitigate the greenhouse effect. The C sequestration potential through judicious management of world cropland includes 0.08–0.12 Pg/yr by erosion control, 0.02–0.03 Pg/yr by restoration of severely degraded soils, 0.02–0.04 Pg/yr by reclamation of salt-affected soils, 0.15–0.175 Pg/yr by adoption of conservation tillage and crop residue management, 0.18–0.24 Pg/yr by adoption of improved cropping system and 0.30–0.40 Pg/yr as C offset through biofuel production. The total C sequestration potential of the world cropland is about 0.75–1.0 Pg/yr or about 50% of annual emission of 1.6–1.8 Pg by deforestation and other agricultural activities. This finite soil-C sink could be filled over a 20 to 50-year period, during which energy related emission reductions gradually take effect at global scale. Improving soil quality is a win–win strategy, while increasing productivity it also improves environment and partially mitigates the greenhouse effect. Intensification of farming and increasing biomass production can lead to increased sequestration of C in soils, and to partly meet commitments under the Kyoto Protocol at national and global scales. Global reduction in C emission may have to be substantial if the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ is to be stabilized at 550 ppmv. However, realization of this potential would require developing channels of communication between scientists and land managers and policy makers, and providing economic incentives.     

Potential and sustainability for carbon sequestration with improved soil management in agricultural soils of China

Arable land soils generally have lower organic carbon (C) levels than soils under native vegetation; increasing the C stocks through improved management is suggested as an effective means to sequester CO₂ from the atmosphere. China's arable lands, accounting for 13% of the world's total, play an important role in soil C sequestration, but their potential to enhance C sequestration has not yet been quantitatively assessed. The C sequestration by agricultural soils is affected by many environmental factors (such as climate and soil conditions), biological processes (crop C fixation, decomposition and transformation), and crop and soil management (e.g. tillage and manure application). Estimation of the C sequestration potential requires the quantification of the combined effects of these factors and processes. In this study, we used a coupled remote sensing- and process-based ecosystem model to estimate the potential for C sequestration in agricultural soils of China and evaluated the sustainability of soil C uptake under different soil management options. The results show that practicing no-tillage on 50% of the arable lands and returning 50% of the crop residue to soils would lead to an annual soil C sequestration of 32.5 Tg C, which accounts for about 4% of China's current annual C emission. Soil C sequestration with improved soil management is highly time-dependent; the effect lasted for only 20–80 years. Generally, practicing no-tillage causes higher rate and longer sustainability of soil C sequestration than only increasing crop residue into soils. The potential for soil C sequestration varied greatly among different regions due to the differences in climate, soil conditions and crop productivity.     

中国典型农田土壤有机碳密度的空间分异及影响因素

农田土壤有机碳密度（SOCD）是衡量土壤肥力和土壤质量的重要指标.为理解我国农田SOCD空间分异特征及其影响因素,基于中国生态系统研究网络19个典型农田生态站2005~2015年SOCD的监测数据,利用地理探测器方法,分析了农田SOCD空间分异的影响因素.结果表明,我国不同站点农田SOCD平均值变化范围为0.83~4.97 kg·m^-2,并呈现出湿润季风区高于干旱半干旱地区的空间分异特征.在不同土地利用方式下,水稻田SOCD明显高于其他类型的农田,并且其表现出显著增加的趋势（P<0.05）,增加速率为0.13 kg·（m²·a）^-1.土壤理化性状和降水量是影响农田SOCD空间分布的重要因素,特别是土壤碱解氮含量对农田SOCD空间分布影响最大,且它分别与纬度、土壤类型、降水量及土壤pH等因素交互后影响力显著增强,本研究结果对我国农田温室气体减排增汇提供重要的科学依据.     

Climate change and the growth of the livestock sector in developing countries

Livestock production systems will inevitably be affected as a result of changes in climate and climate variability, with impacts on peoples’ livelihoods. At the same time, livestock food chains are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture and livestock in particular will need to play a greater role than they have hitherto in reducing emissions in the future. Adaptation and mitigation may require significant changes in production technology and farming systems, which could affect productivity. Given what is currently known about the likely impacts on livestock systems, however, the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change in the aggregate may not represent an enormous constraint to the growth of the global livestock sector, in its bid to meet increasing demand for livestock products. Different livestock systems have different capacities to adapt or to take on board the policy and regulatory changes that may be required in the future. Vulnerability of households dependent on livestock, particularly in the drier areas of developing countries, is likely to increase substantially, with concomitant impacts on poverty and inequity. The capacity of these systems to adapt and to yield up their carbon sequestration potential deserves considerable further study. Comprehensive frameworks need to be developed to assess impacts and trade-offs, in order to identify and target adaptation and mitigation options that are appropriate for specific contexts, and that can contribute to environmental sustainability as well as to poverty alleviation and economic development.     

Identifying high-yield low-emission pathways for the cereal production in South Asia

Increasing agricultural production to meet the growing demand for food whilst reducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the major challenge under the changing climate. To develop long-term policies that address these challenges, strategies are needed to identify high-yield low-emission pathways for particular agricultural production systems. In this paper, we used bio-physical and socio-economic models to analyze the impact of different management practices on crop yield and emissions in two contrasting agricultural production systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India. The result revealed the importance of considering both management and socio-economic factors in the development of high-yield low-emission pathways for cereal production systems. Nitrogen use rate and frequency of application, tillage and residue management and manure application significantly affected GHG emissions from the cereal systems. In addition, various socio-economic factors such as gender, level of education, training on climate change adaptation and mitigation and access to information significantly influenced the adoption of technologies contributing to high-yield low-emission pathways. We discussed the policy implications of these findings in the context of food security and climate change.     

The potential of cropland soil carbon sequestration in the Loess Plateau, China

It is generally accepted that cropland soils could be managed to store significant carbon (C), however little information is available regarding the cropland soil C sequestration potential of the Loess Plateau in northern China. This study aimed to estimate the cropland soil C sequestration potential in this area using the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method with region-specific C stock change factors. The results show that the C sequestration potential can reach 6.054 Tg C yr^?1 (1Tg?=?10¹² g) in cropland soils of the Loess Plateau using techniques that are currently available (no-tillage and high residue incorporation). Although the results show a high degree of uncertainty in this estimate with 95 % confidence interval ranges from 2.623 to 11.94 Tg C yr^?1, our study suggests that cropland soil C sequestration could play a meaningful role in helping to mitigate greenhouse gas increases in the Chinese Loess Plateau.     

Sustainable land management practices as providers of several ecosystem services under rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems

Little is known about the multiple impacts of sustainable land management practices on soil and water conservation, carbon sequestration, mitigation of global change and crop yield productivity in semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems. We hypothesized that a shift from intensive tillage to more conservative tillage management practices (reduced tillage optionally combined with green manure) leads to an improvement in soil structure and quality and will reduce soil erosion and enhance carbon sequestration in semiarid Mediterranean rainfed agroecosystems. To test the hypothesis, we assessed the effects of different tillage treatments (conventional (CT), reduced (RT), reduced tillage combined with green manure (RTG), and no tillage (NT)) on soil structure and soil water content, runoff and erosion control, soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, crop yield and carbon sequestration in two semiarid agroecosystems with organic rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill) in the Murcia Region (southeast Spain). It was found that reduction and suppression of tillage under almonds led to an increase in soil water content in both agroecosystems. Crop yields ranged from 775 to 1,766 kg ha^?1 between tillage treatments, but we did not find a clear relation between soil water content and crop yield. RT and RTG treatments showed lower soil erosion rates and higher crop yields of almonds than under CT treatment. Overall, higher soil organic carbon contents and aggregate stability were observed under RTG treatment than under RT or CT treatment. It is concluded that conversion from CT to RTG is suitable to increase carbon inputs without enhancing soil CO₂ emissions in semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems.     

我国典型露地蔬菜生产中的温室气体排放

基于国家农业统计数据,以露地番茄、黄瓜、大白菜和萝卜为研究对象,应用生命周期评价(life cycle assessment,LCA)方法,定量化我国4种典型露地蔬菜生产中的净温室气体排放(net greenhouse gas emission,NGHGE),并比较蔬菜种类间、省域间净温室气体排放差异和分析减排措施.结果表明:我国典型露地蔬菜生产系统温室气体排放量远高于其带来的碳固定量,是净温室气体排放系统,生产单位面积露地番茄、黄瓜、大白菜和萝卜净温室气体排放(以CO_2-eq计)分别为4 149、 3 718、 3 780和2 427 kg·hm~(-2),不同种类露地蔬菜净温室气体排放差异大;我国典型露地蔬菜净温室气体排放空间差异大,其中,海南、云南、陕西和山东等省份番茄、黄瓜、大白菜和萝卜净温室气体排放高;肥料生产运输和施用是露地蔬菜温室气体排放的主要贡献因子,贡献率为86.8%～90.8%,因此改善肥料生产工艺降低肥料生产运输过程中的温室气体排放和根据露地蔬菜种类及种植地区优化肥料施用量是实现我国露地蔬菜可持续发展的重要措施.     

Cost-effectiveness of greenhouse gases mitigation measures in the European agro-forestry sector: a literature survey

Over the last 20 years, climate change has become an increasing concern for scientists, public opinions and policy makers. Due to the pervasive nature of its impacts for many important aspects of human life, climate change is likely to influence and be influenced by the most diverse policy or management choices. This is particularly true for those interventions affecting agriculture and forestry: they are strongly dependent on climate phenomena, but also contribute to climate evolution being sources of and sinks for greenhouse gases (GHG). This paper offers a survey of the existing literature assessing cost-effectiveness and efficiency of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies or the effects of broader economic reforms in the agricultural and forestry sectors. The focus is mainly on European countries. Different methodological approaches, research questions addressed and results are examined. The main findings are that agriculture can potentially provide emissions reduction at a competitive cost, mainly with methane abatement, while carbon sequestration seems more cost-effective with appropriate forest management measures. Afforestation, cropland management and bioenergy are less economically viable measures due to competition with other land use. Mitigation policies should be carefully designed either to balance costs with expected benefits in terms of social welfare. Regional variability is one of the main drawbacks to fully assess the cost-effectiveness of different measures. Integration of models to take into account both social welfare and spatial heterogeneity seems to be the frontier of the next model generation.     

Integrating agricultural and forestry GHG mitigation response into general economy frameworks: Developing a family of response functions

An econometrically estimated family ofresponse functions is developed forcharacterizing potential responses togreenhouse gas mitigation policies by theagriculture and forestry sectors in theU.S. The response functions are estimatedbased on results of anagricultural/forestry sector model. Theyprovide estimates of sequestration andemission reductions in forestry andagriculture along with levels of sectoralproduction, prices, welfare, andenvironmental attributes given a carbonprice, levels of demand for agriculturalgoods, and the energy price. Sixalternative mitigation policiesrepresenting types of greenhouse gasoffsets allowed are considered. Resultsindicate that the largest quantity ofgreenhouse gas offset consistently appearswith the mitigation policy that pays forall opportunities. Restricting carbonpayments (emission tax or sequestrationsubsidy) only to aff/deforestation or onlyto agricultural sequestration substantiallyreduces potential mitigation. Highercarbon prices lead to more sequestration,less emissions, reduced consumer and totalwelfare, improved environmental indicatorsand increased producer welfare.     

保护性耕作对土壤结构体碳氮分布的影响

以7年不同耕作的定位试验为研究对象,研究了深松、旋耕、免耕等保护性耕作对关中塿土小麦-玉米轮作条件下土壤结构体分布以及结构体中有机碳和全氮含量、储量的影响。结果表明,与传统耕作相比,深松、旋耕、免耕以及秸秆还田+传统耕作均提高了5 mm粒级结构体的含量。随着土壤结构体粒径的增大,结构体有机碳含量逐渐减小,有机碳含量在0.25 mm结构体中平均含量为10.87 g/kg,在5 mm结构体中平均含量为9.57 g/kg。在0.25 mm的各粒级结构体中,全氮含量也随着结构体粒径的增加而减小。深松和旋耕处理较免耕和传统耕作更有利于结构体中有机碳、氮含量的增加;深松和旋耕比较,深松更有利于2 mm结构体碳氮含量的增加。相关分析表明,土壤碳氮含量和较小粒级(2 mm)结构体的碳氮含量之间的相关性最好。从有利于结构体保持和有机碳、氮储量增加的角度考虑,深松和旋耕是当地较理想的耕作方式。     

Agricultural bio-char production,renewable energy generation and farm carbon sequestration in Western Australia: Certainty,uncertainty and risk

Reducing the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change while increasing primary productivity requires mitigation and adaptation activities to generate profitable co-benefits to farms. The conversion of woody-wastes by pyrolysis to produce bio-char (biologically derived charcoal) is one potential option that can enhance natural rates of carbon sequestration in soils, reduce farm waste, and substitute renewable energy sources for fossil-derived fuel inputs. Bio-char has the potential to increase conventional agricultural productivity and enhance the ability of farmers to participate in carbon markets beyond traditional approach by directly applying carbon into soil. This paper provides an overview of the pyrolysis process and products and quantifies the amount of renewable energy generation and net carbon sequestration possible when using farm bio-waste to produce bio-char as a primary product. While this research provides approximate bio-char and energy production yields, costs, uses and risks, there is a need for additional research on the value of bio-char in conventional crop yields and adaptation and mitigation options.     

The value of indigenous knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the African Sahel

Past global efforts at dealing with the problem of global warming concentrated on mitigation, with the aim of reducing and possibly stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. With the slow progress in achieving this, adaptation was viewed as a viable option to reduce the vulnerability to the anticipated negative impacts of global warming. It is increasingly realized that mitigation and adaptation should not be pursued independent of each other but as complements. This has resulted in the recent calls for the integration of adaptation into mitigation strategies. However, integrating mitigation and adaptation into climate change concerns is not a completely new idea in the African Sahel. The region is characterized by severe and frequent droughts with records dating back into centuries. The local populations in this region, through their indigenous knowledge systems, have developed and implemented extensive mitigation and adaptation strategies that have enabled them reduce their vulnerability to past climate variability and change, which exceed those predicted by models of future climate change. However, this knowledge is rarely taken into consideration in the design and implementation of modern mitigation and adaptation strategies. This paper highlights some indigenous mitigation and adaptation strategies that have been practiced in the Sahel, and the benefits of integrating indigenous knowledge into formal climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Incorporating indigenous knowledge can add value to the development of sustainable climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that are rich in local content, and planned in conjunction with local people.     

Population dynamics and the physical and financial impacts to cereal crops of the Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus on the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape, South Africa

Cereal crop farmers in the Western Cape province of South Africa regard the Egyptian Goose as a serious pest. The Agulhas Plain, in particular, attracts thousands of geese annually primarily because of the abundance and availability of nutritious crops such as wheat Triticum spp. and barley Hordeum spp. for food and permanent water bodies for roosting, moulting and breeding. Therefore, this paper investigates the population dynamics and physical and financial impacts to cereal crops of the Egyptian Goose on the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape. Egyptian Geese inflict damage during three main periods, viz. soon after sowing (surface seeds); young, developing plants (growing plants); and cut plants stacked in windrows (long, linear piles) to dry. The largest numbers of geese were recorded during June and July when they foraged on growing plants less than 25 cm tall. Overall, the mean yield loss was 65.6% in 1997 and 63.5% in 1998. Fields suffering greatest yield loss in 1997 and 1998 were generally those within 600 m of the roosting sites and had about 300 geese grazing on them on areas of around 2 ha in size for about 2 months. By August, geese moved from croplands on to pastures. During October and November, geese once again fed primarily on barley seeds in harvested crops stacked in windrows. Damage by geese to farmers was estimated to be >2.5 and 7% of annual revenue received from barley and wheat farming, in 1997 and 1998, respectively. There are many variables that need to be considered when attempting to quantify and explain damage to cereal crops by Egyptian Geese.     

增氧对不同秸秆还田稻田田面水养分动态及温室气体排放的影响

秸秆还田对于改善土壤结构、培肥土壤和提高农作物产量与品质有着重要意义,但秸秆还田会增加甲烷排放和面源污染物排放等环境风险,如何减少秸秆还田带来的负面效应是亟需解决的难题.系统比较了增氧对不同碳氮比秸秆还田稻田水稻生长期内田面水碳氮含量和温室气体排放的影响.结果表明,不同秸秆还田均明显增加了稻田田面水中化学需氧量(COD),虽略微降低了N₂O排放,但显著促进了稻田甲烷的排放和全球增温潜势,大小表现为：麦秸还田>油菜秸秆>蚕豆秸秆还田;秸秆还田处理提高了水稻产量,但统计未达显著水平.增氧处理不显著影响水稻产量,使秸秆还田后田面水COD降低15%～32%,稻田甲烷排放显著降低10.4%～24.8%,稻田GWP显著降低9.7%～24.4%,其中麦秸还田处理下增氧效果最佳.结果发现增氧措施在秸秆还田稻田尤其是麦秸还田稻田温室气体减排与降低COD排放风险中的潜在作用及其应用可能性.     

浙江省宁波市土壤有机质的时空变异特征

运用地统计学方法分析了2007年浙江省宁波市土壤w(有机质)的空间分布规律,并比较了1987与2007年城区的土壤w(有机质)的时间变化特征. 结果表明:壤土、砂土、黏土中的黏土质地w(有机质)最高;针叶林、阔叶林、草甸、灌丛、农作物、竹林植被覆盖类型中的针叶林w(有机质)最高;水田、旱田、林地、草场、未利用地土地利用方式中草场的w(有机质)最高;潮土、水稻土、红壤、黄壤、紫色土、滨海盐土、粗骨土土壤类型中的黄壤w(有机质)最高.经西北—东南向的变异函数分析得到研究区土壤w(有机质)空间分布呈现城区高、周围低的规律,空间自相关距离约500 m. 1987—2007年,水田采样点的土壤w(有机质)显著减小. 配对数据T检验的结果显示,北仑区的土壤w(有机质)显著变化,耕作方式由水田变为旱田是土壤w(有机质)减小的主要原因.      

Climate change mitigation strategies in the forest sector: biophysical impacts and economic implications in British Columbia,Canada

Managing forests to increase carbon sequestration or reduce carbon emissions and using wood products and bioenergy to store carbon and substitute for other emission-intensive products and fossil fuel energy have been considered effective ways to tackle climate change in many countries and regions. The objective of this study is to examine the climate change mitigation potential of the forest sector by developing and assessing potential mitigation strategies and portfolios with various goals in British Columbia (BC), Canada. From a systems perspective, mitigation potentials of five individual strategies and their combinations were examined with regionally differentiated implementations of changes. We also calculated cost curves for the strategies and explored socio-economic impacts using an input-output model. Our results showed a wide range of mitigation potentials and that both the magnitude and the timing of mitigation varied across strategies. The greatest mitigation potential was achieved by improving the harvest utilization, shifting the commodity mix to longer-lived wood products, and using harvest residues for bioenergy. The highest cumulative mitigation of 421 MtCO₂e for BC was estimated when employing the strategy portfolio that maximized domestic mitigation during 2017–2050, and this would contribute 35% of BC’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target by 2050 at less than $100/tCO₂e and provide additional socio-economic benefits. This case study demonstrated the application of an integrated systems approach that tracks carbon stock changes and emissions in forest ecosystems, harvested wood products (HWPs), and the avoidance of emissions through the use of HWPs and is therefore applicable to other countries and regions.     

黑河中游边缘绿洲农田退耕还草的土壤碳、氮固存效应

研究黑河中游边缘绿洲农田退耕种植苜蓿5a后土壤碳、氮库的变化,通过对2个土类(开垦耕种的风沙土和灰棕漠土)退耕苜蓿地和相邻农田0～5、5～10和10～20cm土层土壤有机碳(SOC)和全氮(TN)、颗粒有机碳和氮(POC、PON)储量的分析表明:开垦耕种的风沙土和灰棕漠土有极低的SOC和TN含量,退耕种植苜蓿后0～20cm SOC储量提高了22.1%～27.8%,SOC的固存率平均为0.47 Mg/(hm²·a),0～5cm表层SOC储量变化最大,提高32%～66%;TN储量0～20cm储量变化不显著,在0～5cm表层TN储量风沙土和灰棕漠土分别提高12.8%和48.1%.退耕后POC和PON较SOC和TN有更显著的变化,其分配比例增加,0～20cm土层POC和PON储量分别提高22.8%～42.7%和18.6%～57.6%,在0～5cm变化最大;在瘠薄耕地转变为多年生苜蓿地后土壤C库的增加主要是由于POC的形成量增加.SOC含量相对更低的灰棕漠土比风沙土退耕后土壤C、N的增加更为明显.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation with scarce land: The potential contribution of increased nitrogen input

Agricultural lands have been identified to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions primarily by production of energy crops and substituting fossil energy resources and through carbon sequestration in soils. Increased fertilizer input resulting in increased yields may reduce the area needed for crop production. The surplus area could be used for energy production without affecting the land use necessary for food and feed production. We built a model to investigate the effect of changing nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates on cropping area required for a given amount of crops. We found that an increase in nitrogen fertilizer supply is only justified if GHG mitigation with additional land is higher than 9–15 t carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare (CO₂-eq._./ha). The mitigation potential of bioenergy production from energy crops is most often not in this range. Hence, from a GHG abatement point of view land should rather be used to produce crops at moderate fertilizer rate than to produce energy crops. This may change if farmers are forced to reduce their N input due to taxes or governmental regulations as it is the case in Denmark. However, with a fertilizer rate 10 % below the economical optimum a reduction of N input is still more effective than the production of bioenergy unless mitigation effect of the bioenergy production exceeds 7 t carbon dioxide (CO₂)-eq._./ha. An intensification of land use in terms of N supply to provide more land for bioenergy production can only in exceptional cases be justified to mitigate GHG emissions with bioenergy under current frame conditions in Germany and Denmark.