Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Tropical Agriculture: Scope and Research Priorities

The scope of mitigation options in tropical agriculture is discussed for three different activities (a) agroforestry, (b) rice-based production systems and (c) pasture/animal husbandry. The prevention of deforestation - and the re-forestation of degraded land - could become a key elements to national climate protection programs of some developing countries. Agroforestry may offer economically viable windows of opportunity for sustainable use of tropical forests whereas additional funds (e.g. through “Clean Development Mechanism”) will be required to make re-forestation programs profitable. Alternative management practices in rice-based systems may offer win-win options to reduce emissions and - at the same time - to obtain another improvement in the production system, namely through optimized timing of nitrogen fertilizer, temporary drainage in irrigated rice fields and integrated residue management. Introducing pasture in degraded land can sequester substantial amounts of carbon (similar to re-forestation). Future research has to include participation of stakeholders from all conceivable levels, i.e. farmers' cooperatives, non-governmental organizations, national agricultural research centers and extension services, to devise simple and financially interesting incentives for reducing emissions. The feasibility of environmentally friendly production techniques has to be disseminated to the public through ‘success stories’ (documented in public media) and demonstration farms.     

中国农业温室气体排放:现状及挑战

该文从农业生产过程和化肥、能源等投入方面计算了中国农业温室气体排放.2009年,中国农业总计排放温室气体158 557.3万t CO2当量,比1980年增长52.03％,年均增长1.46％.其中,CH4占总排放的25％,N2O占总排放的52％,CO2占总排放的23％.按来源分析,在2009年排放的温室气体中,水稻种植排放14 264.45万t,占9％;畜牧生产排放42 709.94万t,占26.94％;土壤排放47 457.81万t,占29.93％;化肥、能源、农药、农膜等投入引起的排放54 125.11万t,占34.14％.2009年农业GDP排放的温室气体为2.98 kg/元,粮食排放的温室气体为1.5 kg/kg.在2008年,牛肉排放的温室气体为28.54 kg/kg,羊肉为15.5 kg/kg,猪肉为1.49kg/kg,禽肉为0.54 kg/kg,牛奶为1.04 kg/kg,禽蛋为0.83 kg/kg.由于技术进步和生产效率提高,单位粮食、肉类和牛奶排放的温室气体都有较大幅度降低.对于种植单季粮食的土地,CO2交易价格为80元/t将使23.27％的耕地退出粮食生产;当CO2交易价格为100元/t时,这一比例高达63.31％.对于种植双季粮食的土地,CO2交易价格为130- 140元/t时,将有50％的耕地退出粮食生产.由于中国粮食生产利润率过低,CO2较低的价格使严重影响粮食生产面积和产量.     

Understanding Human Development Potentials and Demands for Greenhouse Gas Emissions:with Empirical Analysis using time series and cross-sectional data

Based on an investigation of the meaning of development, the neo-classical economic approach to development, and the post-welfarist theory of development, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding human development potentials, while undertaking empirical analysis using cross-sectional and time series data on human development. Human development is associated with basic necessities for subsistence, the quality of life, and political and civil rights, in addition to income indicators. Our analysis suggests that the concept of human development potentials has two dimensions: the rights of development and limits to human development. Both are largely ignored in the neoclassical theory of development. However, human development is not unbounded, which approaches to a relatively fixed constant at given economic, technological and institutional conditions. This conceptual understanding is supported by results from the empirical examination of the relationships between demands for carbon emis     

Methane and Nitrogen Oxide Fluxes in Tropical Agricultural Soils: Sources, Sinks and Mechanisms

Tropical soils are important sources and sinks of atmospheric methane (CH₄) and major sources of oxides of nitrogen gases, nitrous oxide (NM_2O) and NO_x (NO+NO₂). These gases are present in the atmosphere in trace amounts and are important to atmospheric chemistry and earth's radiative balance. Although nitric oxide (NO) does not directly contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, it contributes to climate forcing through its role in photochemistry of hydroxyl radicals and ozone (O₃) and plays a key role in air quality issues. Agricultural soils are a primary source of anthropogenic trace gas emissions, and the tropics and subtropics contribute greatly, particularly since 51% of world soils are in these climate zones. The soil microbial processes responsible for the production and consumption of CH₄ and production of N-oxides are the same in all parts of the globe, regardless of climate. Because of the ubiquitous nature of the basic enzymatic processes in the soil, the biological processes responsible for the production of NO, N_2O and CH₄, nitrification/denitrification and methanogenesis/methanotropy are discussed in general terms. Soil water content and nutrient availability are key controls for production, consumption and emission of these gases. Intensive studies of CH₄ exchange in rice production systems made during the past decade reveal new insight. At the same time, there have been relatively few measurements of CH₄, N_2O or NO_x fluxes in upland tropical crop production systems. There are even fewer studies in which simultaneous measurements of these gases are reported. Such measurements are necessary for determining total greenhouse gas emission budgets. While intensive agricultural systems are important global sources of N₂O and CH₄ recent studies are revealing that the impact of tropical land use change on trace gas emissions is not as great as first reports suggested. It is becoming apparent that although conversion of forests to grazing lands initially induces higher N-oxide emissions than observed from the primary forest, within a few years emissions of NO and N₂O generally fall below those from the primary forest. On the other hand, CH₄ oxidation is typically greatly reduced and grazing lands may even become net sources in situations where soil compaction from cattle traffic limits gas diffusion. Establishment of tree-based systems following slash-and-burn agriculture enhances N₂O and NO emissions during and immediately following burning. These emissions soon decline to rates similar to those observed in secondary forest while CH₄ consumption rates are slightly reduced. Conversion to intensive cropping systems, on the other hand, results in significant increases in N₂O emissions, a loss of the CH₄ sink, and a substantial increase in the global warming potential compared to the forest and tree-based systems. The increasing intensification of crop production in the tropics, in which N fertilization must increase for many crops to sustain production, will most certainly increase N-oxide emissions. The increase, however, may be on the same order as that expected in temperate crop production, thus smaller than some have predicted. In addition, increased attention to management of fertilizer and water may reduce trace gas emissions and simultaneously increase fertilizer use efficiency.     

Developing Communication Strategies for Mitigating Actions Against Global Warming: Linking Framing and a Dual Processing Model

Although there is increasing public awareness of global warming, there is a gap between such perception and relevant actions to combat the problem. In order to develop effective strategies for facilitating public actions, in this paper we draw upon framing theory and a dual processing model. Based on an experiment involving 261 participants from a large public university in Taiwan, this study found that by framing global warming as a local issue, communication messages can trigger both analytic (issue relevance) and affective (negative emotions) appraisals, which, in turn, will increase people's intentions to take actions. This study provides important insights for government and environmental groups when designing communication campaigns on this issue.     

Media Use and Public Perceptions of Global Warming in India

Media plays a vital role in informing the public about environmental threats. Although climate change is a global problem, developing countries such as India are often more vulnerable to the impacts due to poverty, illiteracy, and low public awareness. Using data from a nationally representative survey in India, this paper explores the relationships between media use, issue attention, and trust in informational sources on one hand and science-based climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and policy support on the other. Results suggest that the Indian media, through consistent and accurate coverage of global warming using trusted sources, can play a positive role in increasing public engagement among a largely unaware population. Implications for climate change communication in India are discussed.     

Energy Use and CO2 Production in Tropical Agriculture and Means and Strategies for Reduction or Mitigation

Carbon dioxide emissions due to fossil fuel consumption are well recognized as a major contributor to climate change. In the debate on dealing with this threat, expectations are high that agriculture based economies of the developing world can help alleviate this problem. But, the contribution of agricultural operations to these emissions is fairly small. It is the clearing of native ecosystems for agricultural use in the tropics that is the largest non-fossil fuel source of CO₂ input to the atmosphere. Our calculation show that the use of fossil energy and the concomitant emission of CO₂ in the agricultural operational sector - i.e. the use of farm machinery, irrigation, fertilization and chemical pesticides - amounts to merely 3.9% of the commercial energy use in that part of the world. Of this, 70% is associated with the production and use of chemical fertilizers. In the absence of fertilizer use, the developing world would have converted even more land for cultivation, most of which is completely unsuitable for cultivation. Current expectations are that reforestation in these countries can sequester large quantities of carbon in order to mitigate excessive emissions elsewhere. But, any program that aims to set aside land for the purpose of sequestering carbon must do so without threatening food security in the region. The sole option to liberate the necessary land for carbon sequestration would be the intensification of agricultural production on some of the better lands by increased fertilizer inputs. As our calculations show, the sequestration of carbon far outweighs the emissions that are associated with the production of the extra fertilizer needed. Increasing the fertilizer use in the developing world (without China) by 20%, we calculated an overall net benefit in the carbon budget of between 80 and 206 Mt yr^?1 dependent on the carbon sequestration rate assumed for the regrowing forest. In those regions, where current fertilizer use is low, the relative benefits are the highest as responding yield increases are highest and thus more land can be set aside without harming food security. In Sub-Saharan Africa a 20% fertilizer increase, which amounts to 0.14 Mt of extra fertilizer, can tie up somewhere between 8 and 19 Mt of CO₂ per year (average: 96 t CO₂ per 1 t fertilizer). In the Near East and North Africa with a 20%-increased fertilizer use of 0.4 Mt yr^-1 between 10 and 24 Mt of CO₂ could be sequestered on the land set aside (40 t CO₂ per 1 t fertilizer). In South Asia this is 22–61 Mt CO₂ yr?1 with an annual additional input of 2.15 Mt fertilizer (19 t CO₂ per 1 t fertilizer). In fact, carbon credits may be the only way for some of the farmers in these regions to afford the costly inputs. Additionally, in regions with already relatively high fertilizer inputs such as in South Asia, an efficient use of the extra fertilizer must be warranted. Nevertheless, the net CO₂ benefit through implementation of this measure in the developing world is insignificant compared to the worldwide CO₂ output by human activity. Thus, reforestation is only one mitigating measure and not the solution to unconstrained fossil fuel CO₂ emissions. Carbon emissions should, therefore, first of all be reduced by the avoidance of deforestation in the developing world and moreover by higher energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy sources.     

中国城市温室气体清单研究进展与展望

城市温室气体清单研究有利于温室气体清单编制方法的科学化、规范化、标准化,对于地方政府编制城市温室气体清单,科学地进行城市低碳规划和低碳建设具有重大现实意义。但是目前国内城市温室气体清单研究处于探索阶段,滞后城市应对气候变化和发展低碳经济的需要。本文通过梳理相对规范、有较强影响力的温室气体清单编制方法学,归纳分析国内相关城市温室气体清单研究文献,得出:多是介绍、比较主流温室气体清单编制方法,以及探索并借鉴在区域、城市层面的编制应用,并且编制方法多样,缺乏规范统一的方法。根据已有研究,总结出《省级指南》和《ICLEI指南》对中国城市温室气体清单研究具有重要参考作用。然后比较分析了《省级指南》和《ICLEI指南》在中国城市应用的适用性和局限性,明确指出中国城市温室气体清单的定位是与省级温室气体清单编制方法保持一致性,同时与国外城市温室气体清单方法具有可比性,指出了未来的研究方向。     

Violence in environmental conflicts: the need for a multidimensional approach

Although studies on environmental conflicts have engaged with the subject of violence, a multidimensional approach has been lacking. Using data from 95 environmental conflicts in Central America, we show how different forms of violence appear and overlap. We focus on direct, structural, cultural, slow, and ecological forms of violence. Results suggest that the common understanding of violence in environmental conflicts as a direct event in time and space is only the tip of the iceberg and that violence can reach not only environmental defenders, but also communities, nature, and the sustainability of their relations.     

Finding the Teachable Moment: An Analysis of Information-Seeking Behavior on Global Warming Related Websites during the Release of The Day After Tomorrow

This paper investigates how the mass media may influence information-seeking behavior through an analysis of how the release of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, a fictional depiction of global warming causing catastrophic natural disasters, changed the information-seeking behavior of the public on global warming related websites. A “teachable moment” of elevated information-seeking activity was found to extend from 10 days before the release date of The Day After Tomorrow to 19 days after the movie release date. Using Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average modeling, a significant positive correlation was found between changes in media coverage of The Day After Tomorrow and changes in information-seeking activity, although the correlation did not support hypothesized time lags. These results are discussed in terms of information-seeking models, and new research directions are proposed to link agenda-setting research with the information-seeking literature.     

全球变暖背景下长江三角洲夏季高温时空演变研究

基于国家气候中心提供的2000站逐日地面气温资料,运用高温日数、平均高温度数以及日最高气温这3个指标刻画1961~2015年长江三角洲（简称长三角）地区的夏季高温时空演变,并在对上述指标进行突变检测的基础上,比较其转折前后的夏季高温空间分布特征。结果表明：（1）长三角夏季高温指标在2000年左右存在气候突变,2000年以后夏季高温日数和强度出现显著上升;（2）较之2000年前,2000年后的高温度日数的分布型更为集中,前三个EOF模态解释方差均有所上升,EOF1分布较为相似,EOF2不再呈现带状分布,EOF3局地性特征减弱;（3）2000年后的长三角夏季高温日数增长明显,年平均高温日数达到20 d以上的区域向北扩展至32°N附近,向东扩展至往浙江东部沿海;年平均高温日数达到30 d以上的区域更扩展至31°N以南、121°E以西所有地区,高温日数最多可达近50 d;（4）2000年后高温度日数呈明显增加,从2000年前的10~20℃·d增加到20~50℃·d,以30~31°N一带增长最为显著。浙江中部和南部地区在2000年后高温日数增长明显,但高温强度增长较弱;安徽东部、浙江北部和上海地区高温日数和强度均增长明显。     

论生态农业与中国农业现代化

本文首先分析了我国农业生态环境存在的一系列严重问题，潜伏着巨大的危机。继而指出造成这种现象的原因是多方面的，既有不可忽视的自然因素，更有人为作用的因素。既有历史原因，也有现实障碍。京山县生态环境建设案例的剖析再一次证明生态农业是我国农业现代化的必然选择。最后本文在分析我国生态农业建设障碍因素的基础上，提出了发展生态农业的对策措施。     

Regional climate sensitivity of wetland environments in Rwanda: the need for a location-specific approach

Wetlands are sustaining large communities of people in Rwanda where 10 % of its land surface consists of many local wetlands. Sustainable future management of these numerous wetlands requires a reliable inventory of their location and a dynamic quantitative characterization that allows assessment of their climate change sensitivity. The aim of this study was to assess the importance of climatic factors for determining wetland location at different regional scales. Wetland locations were analyzed and statistically modeled using their location factors with logistic regression. Wetland location probability was determined using topographic (elevation, slope), hydrological (contributing area) and climatic (temperature and rainfall) location factors. A wetland location probability map was made that demonstrated a calibration accuracy of 87.9 % correct at national level compared to an existing inventory, displaying even better fits at subnational level (reaching up to 98 % correct). A validation accuracy of 86.2 % was obtained using an independently collected dataset. A sensitivity analysis was applied to the threshold values used as cutoff value between wetland/non-wetland, demonstrating a robust performance. The developed models were used in a sensitivity scenario analysis to assess future wetland location probability to changes in temperature and rainfall. In particular, wetlands in the central regions of Rwanda demonstrate a high sensitivity to changes in temperature (1 % increase causes a net probable wetland area decline by 12.4 %) and rainfall (+1 % causes a net increase by 1.6 %). This potentially significant impact on wetland number and location probability indicates that climate-sensitive future planning of wetland use is required in Rwanda.     

秸秆还田对稻田温室气体排放的影响:Meta分析——以长江中下游地区为例

全球气候变暖是人类面临的严峻挑战,稻田生态系统在全球气候变暖中起到重要的作用。目前已有许多学者通过大田试验的方法研究了不同秸秆还田方式下温室气体排放的特征,但由于试验地点等因素的不同导致最终的结果差异很大。通过整合这些结果来研究区域内不同秸秆还田方式(翻耕秸秆还田(CTS)、免耕秸秆还田(NTS)和旋耕秸秆还田(RTS))下稻田温室气体排放的特征,能够准确地反映一定区域内稻田生态系统的净减排潜力。本文基于长江中下游地区32篇关于秸秆还田对稻田温室气体排放的文献收集173组数据,利用Meta分析方法研究了3种秸秆还田方式下稻田CH_4和N_2O排放的特征,并估算出不同秸秆还田方式下稻田的全球增温潜势和净增温潜势。结果表明,CTS、NTS和RTS处理下稻田CH_4周年排放的效应值分别为0.76、0.37和0.68,稻田N_2O周年排放的效应值分别为0.44、0.36和0.52;在两熟制下,不同秸秆还田方式下稻田CH_4周年排放的效应值的大小为RTSCTSNTS,但N_2O周年排放的效应值的大小为RTSNTSCTS。在三熟制下,三种秸秆还田方式下稻田CH_4的周年排放的效应值的高低为CTSRTSNTS,而N_2O周年排放的效应值的高低为RTSNTSCTS。在相同的秸秆还田方式下,三熟制稻田温室气体周年排放的效应值都高于两熟制。此外,不同的还田秸秆种类影响稻田温室气体的排放;结合前期研究,估算出CTS、NTS和RTS处理下稻田的净增温潜势分别为12 375.55、11 232.36和15 982.87 kg CO_2-equivalent·hm~(-2)。因此,免耕秸秆还田是长江中下流地区稻田净减排条件下适宜的秸秆还田方式。     

Effects of Topographical Heterogeneity and Dispersal Limitation on Species Turnover in a Temperate Mountane Ecosystem: a Case Study in the Henan Province,China

Species turnover patterns can be inconsistent due to differences in the dispersal ability of different growth forms. Here, species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and bryophytes in the Xiaoqinling National Nature Reserve in China were analyzed to determine patterns of species turnover along an elevation and spatial gradient. Variance partitioning was used to assess the relative contribution of topographic heterogeneity and dispersal limitation to species turnover. Our results suggest that the effect of dispersal limitation is more important than topographic heterogeneity on species turnover in temperate mountane ecosystems in the study area. Dispersal limitation has a greater effect on trees species turnover than on shrubs, herbs or bryophytes species turnover.     

The Global in the Local: A Case Study on Deforestation in a Ukrainian Journalistic Field

It is widely assumed nowadays that in order to effectively respond to environmental challenges, humanity must cultivate cosmopolitan ethical consciousness. An important role, according to this outlook, should be assigned to journalists, who must possess a cosmopolitan sense of responsibility. How can this global responsibility emerge out of the local sense of belonging? To examine this question, we present the case study of the decision of 107495 the Kharkov (Ukraine) municipal council to cut down a local recreation forest. The content of local news and the interviews with journalists are presented and analyzed. The study shows that local patriotism appears not to be a decisive factor in forming journalists’ sentiments toward the issues of global responsibility. Rather, it is a sense of exclusion from the global community that explains the fact that no news medium under analysis has managed to relate local events to the global problem of deforestation.     

The Carbon Cycle in the Ecosystems of Thermal Springs in the Chukchi Peninsula as a Natural Model of Warming

Comparative studies on the ecosystems in the vicinity of thermal springs and in the typical tundra were performed in the southeastern Chukchi Peninsula in July and August 1997. Biogenic carbon fluxes during the greater part of the growing season were determined, the aboveground phytomass structure was studied, and the carbon reserve in the soil was estimated. It was demonstrated that the gross primary production and soil carbon in thermal ecosystems are greater than in similar permafrost ecosystems. The structural and ecophysiological changes leading to an increase in the gross production of plant communities were analyzed.     

The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Sustainable Management of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

The sustainable use and management of important tropical coastal ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs) cannot be done without understanding the direct and indirect impacts of man. The ecosystem's resilience and recovery capacity following such impacts must be determined. The efficacy of mitigation measures must also be considered. Remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are excellent tools to use in such studies. This paper reviews the state of the art and application of these tools in tropical coastal zones, and illustrates their relevance in sustainable development. It highlights a selected number of remote sensing case-studies on land cover patterns, population structure and dynamics, and stand characteristics from South-East Asia, Africa and South-America, with a particular emphasis on mangroves. It further shows how remote sensing technology and other scientific tools can be integrated in long-term studies, both retrospective and predictive, in order to anticipate degradation and to take mitigating measures at an early stage. The paper also highlights the guidelines for sustainable management that can result from remote sensing and GIS studies, and identifies existent gaps and research priorities.There is a need for more comprehensive approaches that deal with new remote sensing technologies and analysis in a GIS-environment, and that integrate findings collected over longer periods with the aim of prediction. It is also imperative to collect and integrate data from different disciplines. These are essential in the spirit of sustainable development and management, particularly in developing countries, which are often more vulnerable to environmental degradation.     

Emission Inventories of Carbon-containing Greenhouse Gases in and Technological Measures for Their Abatement

The report summarizes surveys on carbon inventories and initiatives on sustainable carbon cycling taken by the Research Center for EcoEnvironmental Sciences, where the authors work/worked. The first part of the report, which appeared in the preceding issue of this journal, deals with the concept of sustainable carbon cycling, the historic evolution of carbon cycling processes in China, carbon pool enhancement, value addition,carbon sequestration and carbon balance. This very paper, as the second part of the report, covers the results of carbon dynamics modeling, emission inventories of various carbon-containing greenhouse gases and their potential abatement measures.     

IPCC框架下木质林产品碳储核算研究进展:方法选择及关联利益

木质林产品的碳储功能可有效降低大气中二氧化碳的浓度,其碳储量核算已被纳入气候变化缔约国温室气体清单报告,各国基于CBDR原则对木质林产品的碳储计量及贸易流动核算方法学在国家层面的争议及协调,关系到未来在气候变化谈判中的减排责任分配及利益分享。本文首先概括了IPCC历次会议关联木质林产品碳储核算议题及谈判进程,纵向梳理了碳储计量问题的研究进展。其次,对比不同国家和地区关于核算方法的应用及争议,总结不同核算方法在各国间的适用情况及其关联利益。最后,从清单报告和国际贸易角度分析了生产法与储量变化法对林产品碳储计量的不同影响,归纳了不同角度下两种核算方法的适用属性。研究表明:1缔约国附件Ⅰ国家在第二协议期内报告本国木质林产品的碳储量及其变化,在假设本国木质林产品碳储贡献不为零时采用生产法核算碳储量,核算源于本国采伐木的产品碳收支已成为当前缔约国履行气候责任的基本要求;2从清单报告的角度,缔约国基于森林管理参考水平报告碳储量,生产法区别森林管理活动并核算源于可持续森林经营管理的木质林产品碳储量,符合报告的要求;3从国际贸易角度,对于中国等涉及林产品国际贸易的净进口国,储量变化法因考虑到进出口的碳计量,以储量变化法核算碳储量对中国等林产品贸易大国更具优势。