Soil carbon dynamics and potential carbon sequestration by rangelands

The USA has about 336 Mha of grazing lands of which rangelands account for 48%. Changes in rangeland soil C can occur in response to a wide range of management and environmental factors. Grazing, fire, and fertilization have been shown to affect soil C storage in rangelands, as has converting marginal croplands into grasslands. Carbon losses due to soil erosion can influence soil C storage on rangelands both by reducing soil productivity in source areas and potentially increasing it in depositional areas, and by redistributing the C to areas where soil organic matter mineralization rates are different. Proper grazing management has been estimated to increase soil C storage on US rangelands from 0.1 to 0.3 Mg C ha(-1)year(-1) and new grasslands have been shown to store as much as 0.6 Mg C ha(-1)year(-1). Grazing lands are estimated to contain 10-30% of the world's soil organic carbon. Given the size of the C pool in grazing lands we need to better understand the current and potential effects of management on soil C storage.     

The impact of economic complexity on carbon emissions: evidence from France

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper reanalyzes the determinants of the CO2 emissions in France. For this purpose, it considers the unit root test with two structural breaks...     

森林碳汇减排项目现状及前景分析

通过对森林碳汇发展背景的概述,分析了国际、国内森林碳汇项目开发现状,深入剖析了森林碳汇项目发展的制约因素和存在风险,并对森林碳汇项目的发展前景进行了展望,通过森林碳汇交易市场可以实现全球范围成本低、效益好的CO2减排效果,为实现全球环境、经济与社会的可持续发展创造条件.     

The nexus between environmental regulations,economic growth,and environmental sustainability: linking environmental patents to ecological footprint reduction in South Asia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Environmental sustainability has become a major concern for policymakers across the globe. In this regard, understanding the factors responsible for...     

Measuring carbon in forests: current status and future challenges

To accurately and precisely measure the carbon in forests is gaining global attention as countries seek to comply with agreements under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Established methods for measuring carbon in forests exist, and are best based on permanent sample plots laid out in a statistically sound design. Measurements on trees in these plots can be readily converted to aboveground biomass using either biomass expansion factors or allometric regression equations. A compilation of existing root biomass data for upland forests of the world generated a significant regression equation that can be used to predict root biomass based on aboveground biomass only. Methods for measuring coarse dead wood have been tested in many forest types, but the methods could be improved if a non-destructive tool for measuring the density of dead wood was developed. Future measurements of carbon storage in forests may rely more on remote sensing data, and new remote data collection technologies are in development.     

The environmental cost of broiler production and carbon sequestration potential of eucalyptus plantations around farms in Mato Grosso do Sul,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study aimed to evaluate the environmental cost of the production process of broilers from the approach of emergy accounting and carbon...     

Recovering coal bed methane from deep unmineable coal seams and carbon sequestration

Published data from nearly 2,000 coal samples comprising 250 coal beds from 17 states, representing many of the coal producing horizons in the USA, shows moderate correlation (0.7) between depth and methane content for high volatile coal ranks. Low-volatile rank coals average the highest methane content, 12.74 m3/ton (450 ft3/ton), subbituminous rank coals the lowest, <0.71 m3/ton (<25 ft3/ton). Experimentation under replicated in situ conditions of triaxial stress, pore pressure and temperature on Pittsburgh No. 8 coal indicate permeability decreases with increasing CO₂ pressure, with an increase in strain in the coal associated with its swelling.     

Soil carbon sequestration in degraded semiarid agro-ecosystems--perils and potentials

The Kyoto Protocol opens new possibilities for using the biosphere as a carbon sink. Using agro-ecosystems as carbon sinks may be the most appropriate practice from both environmental and socioeconomic points of view. Degraded agro-ecosystems in Africa might benefit significantly from the improved land management that would be part of a carbon sequestration program. There are vast areas of these agro-ecosystems in Africa and their rehabilitation is an urgent matter. We agree with UNEP that there are potentially important synergies to be made between the Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN Convention on Biodiversity. In this paper, we have investigated the potential for increasing soil carbon content in semiarid agro-ecosystems in the Sudan and found that increasing fallow periods will result in increased soil carbon content and converting marginal agricultural areas to rangeland will restore the carbon levels to 80% of the natural savannah carbon levels in 100 years. The economic gain from a future carbon sequestration program has the potential of a significant contribution to the household economy in these agro-ecosystems.     

二氧化碳储存技术的研究现状和展望

为了减少因温室效应造成的危害,必须大量减少CO2的人为排放.将化石燃料燃烧产生的CO2进行储存(尤其是地下储存)能够长期、有效地阻止大气中CO2浓度的增加.通过对CO2储存技术研究现状的介绍,对中国今后开展CO2地下储存技术提出了建议和研究方向.     

Organic carbon sequestration in Chinese croplands under compost application and its contribution to carbon neutrality

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Achieving the carbon neutrality in China has great impact on alleviating global warming. Compost application, an important measure to promote soil...     

Impact of soil movement on carbon sequestration in agricultural ecosystems

Recent modeling studies indicate that soil erosion and terrestrial sedimentation may establish ecosystem disequilibria that promote carbon (C) sequestration within the biosphere. Movement of upland eroded soil into wetland systems with high net primary productivity may represent the greatest increase in storage capacity potential for C sequestration. The capacity of wetland systems to capture sediments and build up areas of deposition has been documented as well as the ability of these ecosystems to store substantial amounts of C. The purpose of our work was to assess rates of sediment deposition and C storage in a wetland site adjacent to a small first-order stream that drains an agricultural area. The soils of the wetland site consist of a histosol buried by sediments from the agricultural area. Samples of deposited sediments in the riparian zone were collected in 5 cm increments and the concentration of 137Cs was used to determine the 1964 and 1954 deposition layers. Agricultural activity in the watershed has caused increased sediment deposition to the wetland. The recent upland sediment is highly enriched in organic matter indicating that large amounts of organic C have been sequestered within this zone of sediment deposition. Rates of sequestration are much higher than rates that have occurred over the pre-modern history of the wetland. These data indicate the increased sedimentation rates in the wetland ecosystem are associated with increased C sequestration rates.     

Income inequality,economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions nexus: empirical evidence from Ethiopia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The relationship between income inequality, economic growth, and CO2 emissions is ambiguous both theoretically and empirically. Hence, this study...     

上海市与东京市陆地碳汇核算与比较分析

全球气候的变化激发了人们对现有的和潜在的碳汇的研究兴趣.结合上海市和东京市的基本状况,分析了上海市和东京市主要的陆地碳汇类型,根据相关文献研究和当地的基本情况确定碳汇参数,研究了不同陆地碳汇类型的碳汇量,进而估算出陆地总碳汇量.在此基础上,从不同的角度对比分析了2个城市的陆地碳汇能力,并提出了加强湿地保护工作、加强园林绿化建设工作、保护耕地等增强上海市陆地碳汇能力的对策.     

Modeling landfill gas potential and potential energy recovery from Thohoyandou landfill site,South Africa

ABSTRACT

The increase in solid waste generation has been a major contributor to the amount of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) present in the atmosphere. To some extent, a great chunk of these GHGs in the atmosphere is from landfill. This study assesses two theoretical models (LandGEM and Afvalzorg models) to estimate the amount of landfill gas (LFG) emitted from Thohoyandou landfill site. Also, the LFGcost Web model was used to estimate the cost and benefits of the implementation of an LFG utilization technology. The Thohoyandou landfill started operations in the year 2005 and it is proposed to reach its peak at approximately in the year 2026. The LandGEM calculates the mass of landfill gas emission using methane generation capacity, mass of deposited waste, methane generation constant and methane generation rate. Meanwhile, the Afvalzorg model determines the LFG emissions using the Methane correction factor, yearly waste mass disposal, waste composition, Degradation Organic Carbon, methane generation rate constant, LFG recovery efficiency. The study findings indicate that the methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from the landfill estimated from LandGEM will peak in the year 2026 with values of 3517 Mg/year and 9649 Mg/year, respectively. Results from the Afvalzorg model show that CH₄ emission will peak in the year 2026 (3336 Mg/year). The LandGEM model showed that the total LFG, CH₄ and CO₂ emitted from the landfill between 2005 and 2040 are 293239.3 Mg/year, 78325.7 Mg/year and 214908.6 Mg/year, respectively. The simulation from the Afvalzorg model found that the CH₄ emitted from the years 2005– 2040 is 74302 Mg/year. The implementation of an LFG utilization technology was economically feasible from consideration of the sales of electricity generated and Certified Emission Reductions (CER) (carbon credits).     

The carbon budget of Canadian forests: a sensitivity analysis of changes in disturbance regimes, growth rates, and decomposition rates

Ecosystem responses to climate changes will affect the exchange of carbon (C) with the atmosphere, thus providing feedback for future climate response. We have developed a C budget model of Canadian forests and forest sector activities and used sensitivity analysis runs with changes in productivity, decomposition, and disturbance regimes to assess the sensitivity of the Canadian forest sector C budget over the next century. The model operates on data derived from Canada's National Forest Biomass Inventory, from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory global soil C data base, and from Canadian data bases that document areas annually disturbed by fire, insects, and harvesting. It simulates the dynamics of biomass and soil C pools (including detritus and coarse woody debris) as they are affected by growth, decomposition, and disturbances. For the reference run of the model, we assumed unchanging climate and disturbance regimes. Under these conditions, total ecosystem C increased by 2 Gt C (2.3%) over the 100-year simulation period. In the sensitivity analysis, we explored the effects of changes in the area annually disturbed by fire and insect-induced stand mortality (-60 to +300%), growth rates (-10 to +20%), decomposition rates (-10 to +25%), and combined changes in growth and decomposition rates. In every model run, the change of total ecosystem C relative to the reference run was less than 10%. Combined changes to growth and decomposition rates yielded very small deviations from the results of the reference run (-0.8 to +1.2%). Because disturbance regime changes affect forest age-class structure as well as forest dynamics, they are expected to affect C budgets strongly. Total ecosystem C, however, is slightly more sensitive to changes in growth and decomposition parameters than to changes in disturbance regimes. Although the sensitivity analysis results suggest that C budgets are little affected by the range of parameter changes implemented here, we must emphasize that our sensitivity analyses do not account for potentially important processes, such as regeneration failure or the shifts in forest distribution.     

重庆市清水溪河流沉积物重金属污染及潜在生态风险评价

采用单因子指数法和Hakanson潜在生态风险指数法,通过分析清水溪流域18个采样点沉积物中典型重金属污染物Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb和Zn的含量,定量确定了清水溪沉积物中重金属的污染程度和潜在生态风险程度。结果表明,清水溪流域污染非常严重,上中游河段受到重金属的高强度污染,主要的重金属污染因子为Zn,污染因子的高低顺序为：Zn>Cu>Cr>Cd>Pb;潜在生态风险指数RI平均值为255.58,清水溪处于高值潜在生态风险,且上中游河段潜在生态风险指数很高,主要的潜在生态风险因子为Cd,潜在生态风险因子的大小顺序为：Cd>Cu>Cr>Zn>Pb。     

Effects of economic complexity,economic growth,and renewable energy technology budgets on ecological footprint: the role of democratic accountability

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The economic structure of countries can influence economic growth, energy demand, and environmental footprints. However, the literature on economic...