How many samples are required? Evaluating a model for verification of carbon sequestration in a hybrid poplar buffer strip

A model is developed to predict annual and total above-ground carbon storage within a hybrid poplar stream buffer. The regression model predicts tree wet weight based upon circumference at breast-height (137 cm) with an r-square value of 0.9922. Carbon storage in above-ground biomass is estimated to be 3.57 to 3.71 metric tons per hectare, with a measured annual increment of 0.92 to 1.37 metric ton per hectare per year. The variability of carbon storage within this biological system, including soil organic matter, is explored, and the number of samples required to achieve a desired level of statistical certainty are predicted. As has been investigated previously for other biological systems (Garten and Wullschleger, 1999), the study shows that a prohibitively large number of samples must be taken in order to achieve high degrees of certainty about mean carbon storage values. The study also shows, however, that mean values with somewhat greater uncertainties can easily be achieved with much smaller sample sizes. Thus carbon sequestration verification might be accomplished cost-effectively if the degree of certainty required is not unrealistically high for highly variable natural systems.     

Global methane emissions from the world coal industry

The Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated the total methane emissions from worldwide mining, treatment and storage of coal to be approximately 25 million tonnes/year for 1990. Slightly more than one million tonnes of methane are utilized by the industry. Thus, the net annual discharge to the atmosphere is 24 million tonnes. Methane emissions data were available for the U.S., the U.K., former U.S.S.R., Australia, China, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Methane emissions for India and S. Africa were estimated from a linear correlation between the average depth of mining and specific methane emissions derived from the available data for the eight countries. These ten largest coal producing countries represented nearly 90% of world coal production in 1990. Total methane emissions for the world coal industry were calculated by prorating the methane emissions from these ten countries in proportion to coal production.The reported values represent the best international data available at present. The net total emissions of 24 million tonnes/year are substantially less than some previously reported indirect estimations and constitute only 4 to 6% of the global methane emissions.     

Carbon Sequestration Potential of Indian Forests

The forestry sector can not only sustain its carbon but also has the potential to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. India has maintained approximately 64 Mha of forest cover for the last decade. The rate of afforestation in India is one of the highest among the tropical countries, currently estimated to be 2 Mha per annum. The annual productivity has increased from 0.7 m³ per hactare in 1985 to 1.37 m³ per hectare in 1995. Increase in annual productivity directly indicates an increase in forest biomass and hence higher carbon sequestration potential. The carbon pool for the Indian forests is estimated to be 2026.72 Mt for the year 1995. Estimates of annual carbon uptake increment suggest that our forests and plantations have been able to remove at least 0.125 Gt of CO₂ from the atmosphere in the year 1995. Assuming that the present forest cover in India will sustain itself with a marginal annual increase by 0.5 Mha in area of plantations, we can expect our forests to continue to act as a net carbon sink in future.     

Top-down and bottom-up inventory approach for above ground forest biomass and carbon monitoring in REDD framework using multi-resolution satellite data

This study deals with the future scope of REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and REDD+ regimes for measuring and monitoring the current state and dynamics of carbon stocks over time with integrated geospatial and field-based biomass inventory approach. Multi-temporal and multi-resolution geospatial synergic approach incorporating satellite sensors from moderate to high resolution with stratified random sampling design is used. The inventory process involves a continuous forest inventory to facilitate the quantification of possible CO₂ reductions over time using statistical up-scaling procedures on various levels. The combined approach was applied on a regional scale taking Himachal Pradesh (India), as a case study, with a hierarchy of forest strata representing the forest structure found in India. Biophysical modeling implemented revealed power regression model as the best fit (R ²?=?0.82) to model the relationship between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and biomass which was further implemented to calculate multi-temporal above ground biomass and carbon sequestration. The calculated value of net carbon sequestered by the forests totaled to 11.52 million tons (Mt) over the period of 20 years at the rate of 0.58 Mt per year since 1990 while CO₂ equivalent reduced from the environment by the forests under study during 20 years comes to 42.26 Mt in the study area.     

Carbon dioxide flux across a forest-field ecotone

CO₂ flux of a deciduous forest and an old-field surface, and the ecotone between these two typical southern U.S. ecological communities, was studied in July, 1989. Rates of CO₂ flux were greatest in the old field and least in the forest plots. The ecotone showed the greatest variation in CO₂ flux. These differences appear to be due to differences in soil surface temperature, the old field being more exposed to direct solar radiation. The ecotonal community represents a landscape property which should be considered in studies of the transfer of carbon across the soil-atmosphere boundary.     

Can buildings sector achieve the carbon mitigation ambitious goal: Case study for a low-carbon demonstration city in China?

China is committed to peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and become a carbon-neutral society by 2060. The building sector that accounts for over one-third of the total carbon emissions is expected to face a great challenge in helping China achieve this goal. Shenzhen, as a low-carbon pilot city, whether its low-carbon work of urban buildings reaches the target is crucial. An attempt has been made in this study to assess the intensity of carbon emissions and associated reduction efficiency of urban buildings (operation stage) in Shenzhen by using the life cycle assessment method. The results show that the total carbon emissions generated from the buildings' operation stage have increased from 22 million metric tons (Mt) CO₂eq in 2005 to 42 (±13%) Mt. CO₂eq in 2019. Carbon emissions mainly result from the buildings' electricity use (79%), followed by refrigerant release emissions (12%). The energy conservation and carbon emissions reduction intensity in Shenzhen is at the middle level in China, and there is considerable space for improvement. According to scenario-based analysis, the carbon emission of the buildings sector can probably reach its peak by 2025 with the implementation of suitable policies – 5 years earlier than national target by 2030. Overall, this study makes a systemic analysis of the characteristics of urban buildings energy consumption and carbon emissions reduction, which can provide supportings for justifying the effectiveness of low-carbon activities in Shenzhen and beyond.     

Conservation practices in U.S. agriculture and their impact on carbon sequestration

Increase in the use of conservation practices byagriculture in the United States will enhance soilorganic carbon and potentially increase carbonsequestration. This, in turn, will decrease the netemission of carbon dioxide. A number of studies existthat calibrate the contribution of various individual,site-specific conservation practices on changes insoil organic carbon. There is a general absence,however, of a comprehensive effort to measureobjectively the contribution of these practicesincluding conservation tillage, the ConservationReserve Program, and conservation buffer strips to anchange in soil organic carbon. This paper fills thatvoid. After recounting the evolution of the use ofthe various conservation practices, it is estimatedthat organic carbon in the soil in 1998 in the UnitedStates attributable to these practices was about 12.2million metric tons. By 2008, there will be anincrease of about 25%. Given that there is asignificant potential for conservation practices tolead to an increase in carbon sequestration, there area number of policy options that can be pursued.     

Accounting for forest carbon pool dynamics in product carbon footprints: Challenges and opportunities

Modification and loss of forests due to natural and anthropogenic disturbance contribute an estimated 20% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Although forest carbon pool modeling rarely suggests a ‘carbon neutral’ flux profile, the life cycle assessment community and associated product carbon footprint protocols have struggled to account for the GHG emissions associated with forestry, specifically, and land use generally. Principally, this is due to underdeveloped linkages between life cycle inventory (LCI) modeling for wood and forest carbon modeling for a full range of forest types and harvest practices, as well as a lack of transparency in globalized forest supply chains. In this paper, through a comparative study of U.S. and Chinese coated freesheet paper, we develop the initial foundations for a methodology that rescales IPCC methods from the national to the product level, with reference to the approaches in three international product carbon footprint protocols. Due to differences in geographic origin of the wood fiber, the results for two scenarios are highly divergent. This suggests that both wood LCI models and the protocols need further development to capture the range of spatial and temporal dimensions for supply chains (and the associated land use change and modification) for specific product systems. The paper concludes by outlining opportunities to measure and reduce uncertainty in accounting for net emissions of biogenic carbon from forestland, where timber is harvested for consumer products.     

Mega-Development Trends in the Amazon: Implications for Global Change

This paper describes four global-change phenomena that are having major impacts on Amazonian forests. The first is accelerating deforestation and logging. Despite recent government initiatives to slow forest loss, deforestation rates in Brazilian Amazonia have increased from 1.1 million ha yr^–1 in the early 1990s, to nearly 1.5 million ha yr^–1 from 1992–1994, and to more than 1.9 million ha yr^–1 from 1995–1998. Deforestation is also occurring rapidly in some other parts of the Amazon Basin, such as in Bolivia and Ecuador, while industrialized logging is increasing dramatically in the Guianas and central Amazonia.The second phenomenon is that patterns of forest loss and fragmentation are rapidly changing. In recent decades, large-scale deforestation has mainly occurred in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon — in the Brazilian states of Pará, Maranho, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, and in northern Bolivia. While rates of forest loss remain very high in these areas, the development of major new highways is providing direct conduits into the heart of the Amazon. If future trends follow past patterns, land-hungry settlers and loggers may largely bisect the forests of the Amazon Basin.The third phenomenon is that climatic variability is interacting with human land uses, creating additional impacts on forest ecosystems. The 1997/98 El Niño drought, for example, led to a major increase in forest burning, with wildfires raging out of control in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima and other locations. Logging operations, which create labyrinths of roads and tracks in forsts, are increasing fuel loads, desiccation and ignition sources in forest interiors. Forest fragmentation also increases fire susceptibility by creating dry, fire-prone forest edges.Finally, recent evidence suggests that intact Amazonian forests are a globally significant carbon sink, quite possibly caused by higher forest growth rates in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ fertilization. Evidence for a carbon sink comes from long-term forest mensuration plots, from whole-forest studies of carbon flux and from investigations of atmospheric CO₂ and oxygen isotopes. Unfortunately, intact Amazonian forests are rapidly diminishing. Hence, not only is the destruction of these forests a major source of greenhouse gases, but it is reducing their intrinsic capacity to help buffer the rapid anthropogenic rise in CO₂.     

基于区域环境空气质量和碳排放数据的减污降碳协同效果评估

化石燃料燃烧产生的温室气体与大气污染物具有同根同源性,但具体治理中减污降碳的协同效果尚不明确。以浙江省11个设区市为研究样本,对环境空气质量和二氧化碳(CO₂)排放数据进行分析研究,结果显示：2016—2020年浙江省环境空气质量持续改善,但CO₂排放总量仍处于增长阶段。11个设区城市PM_2.5年均浓度降幅在26%～41%之间,二氧化氮(NO₂)年均浓度下降趋势不明显,大部分城市呈现碳排放增加、NO₂浓度下降的特征,只有杭州和温州两市呈现碳排放总量和NO₂、PM_2.5浓度协同下降的趋势。因子相关性分析结果表明,各设区市呈现NO₂浓度与碳排放相关性较大、协同性强,PM_2.5浓度与碳排放相关性较小的特点。进一步通过减污降碳协同定量评价分析表明,浙江地区在环境空气质量改善和温室气体减排已表现出一定成效,但各设区市因产业结构、环境基础条件、协同程度等不同导致减污降碳综合绩效有明显差异。从源头减排实现...     

Modeling a Carbon Capture,Transport, and Storage Infrastructure for Europe

In this paper, we develop a model to analyze the economics of carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCTS) in the wake of expected rising CO₂ prices. We present a scalable mixed integer, multiperiod, welfare-optimizing network model for Europe, called CCTS-Mod. The model incorporates endogenous decisions on carbon capture, pipeline and storage investments, as well as capture, flow and injection quantities based on given costs, CO₂ prices, storage capacities, and point source emissions. Given full information about future costs of CCTS-technology, and CO₂ prices, the model determines a cost minimizing strategy on whether to purchase CO₂ certificates, or to abate the CO₂ through investments into a CCTS-chain on a site by site basis. We apply the model to analyze different scenarios for the deployment of CCTS in Europe, e.g., under high and low CO₂ prices, respectively. We find that beyond CO₂ prices of €50 per t, CCTS can contribute to the decarbonization of Europe’s industry sectors, as long as one assumes sufficient storage capacities (onshore and/or offshore). We find that CCTS is only viable for the power sector if the CO₂ certificate price exceeds €75 per t.     

Availability of disaggregated greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle production: A systematic review

Agriculture is a significant source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and beef cattle are particularly emissions intensive. GHG emissions are typically expressed as a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) ‘carbon footprint’ per unit output. The 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP₁₀₀) is the most commonly used CO₂e metric, but others have also been proposed, and there is no universal reason to prefer GWP₁₀₀ over alternative metrics. The weightings assigned to non-CO₂ GHGs can differ significantly depending on the metric used, and relying upon a single metric can obscure important differences in the climate impacts of different GHGs. This loss of detail is especially relevant to beef production systems, as the majority of GHG emissions (as conventionally reported) are in the form of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), rather than CO₂. This paper presents a systematic literature review of harmonised cradle to farm-gate beef carbon footprints from bottom-up studies on individual or representative systems, collecting the emissions data for each separate GHG, rather than a single CO₂e value. Disaggregated GHG emissions could not be obtained for the majority of studies, highlighting the loss of information resulting from the standard reporting of total GWP₁₀₀ CO₂e alone. Where individual GHG compositions were available, significant variation was found for all gases. A comparison of grass fed and non-grass fed beef production systems was used to illustrate dynamics that are not sufficiently captured through a single CO₂e footprint. Few clear trends emerged between the two dietary groups, but there was a non-significant indication that under GWP₁₀₀ non-grass fed systems generally appear more emissions efficient, but under an alternative metric, the 100-year global temperature potential (GTP₁₀₀), grass-fed beef had lower footprints. Despite recent focus on agricultural emissions, this review concludes there are insufficient data available to fully address important questions regarding the climate impacts of agricultural production, and calls for researchers to include separate GHG emissions in addition to aggregated CO₂e footprints.     

Wildfire-induced reduction in the carbon storage of Mediterranean ecosystems: An application to brush and forest fires impacts assessment

Wildfire is one of the most dangerous and harmful phenomena in the world. Hence, fire impacts assessment could become very important in forest areas according to its environmental and landscape values. This paper suggests an approach to identify fire effects on biomass, in consonance with the potential carbon storage of each area used, and its biomass consumption based on fire behavior.Dense mature forests were the most vulnerable landscapes based on its aboveground biomass, mainly tree stem biomass. A significant correlation was found between fire intensity and biomass consumption. Biomass consumption ranged from 16.59% to 98.75% from the two studied wildfires. It is necessary to provide a scenario analysis according to the uncertain CO₂ market. As an example, carbon storage impacts in one fire were between 100,340.66 € (using the minimum price of CO₂) and 741,057.44 € (using the maximum price of CO₂). Differences between scenarios ranged from 35.30% to 46.51% of the total carbon storage impacts. This approach might be a solution to identify and prioritize areas for restoration activities and optimize the allocation of the resources.     

Numerical Modeling of a Potential Geological CO 2 Sequestration Site at Minden (Germany)

We study opportunities for CO₂ sequestration in geological formations of the state North Rhine Westphalia in Germany. Simulations are performed for evaluating a potential site within the Bunter sandstone formation near the town of Minden in a depth?of around 3,000 m using the numerical simulator TOUGHREACT. Our focus is on three CO₂ storage mechanisms: (1) hydrodynamic trapping, (2) dissolution trapping, and (3) mineral trapping. The results show that due to buoyancy the injected CO₂ phase initially migrates towards the top of the reservoir and is hydrodynamically trapped beneath the confining layer of the cap rock. Then, the CO₂ spreads laterally and dissolves partially in the formation water. The dissolution of CO₂ results in an increase of the density of the brine causing a downward migration until it settles after 10,000 years at the bottom of the reservoir. The simulations indicate that after 10,000 years, 15% (17 Mt) from a total of 114 Mt injected CO₂ are trapped hydrodynamically, 20% (23 Mt) are trapped by dissolution, and 65% (74 Mt) are fixed in newly formed carbonates such as dawsonite, ankerite, and siderite. Within our study pressure increases near the injection well by a factor of 1.1 which is lower than the upper limit usually accepted in gas storage operations. The mineral reactions cause a net decrease of porosity and in turn a decrease of permeability down to 9% of the initial value in parts of the reservoir.     

Carbon fixation efficiency of plants influenced by sulfur dioxide

In the land ecosystem, the forest can absorb the carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere and turn the CO₂ into organic carbon to store it in the plant body. About 2 × 10¹¹ tons of CO₂ changes through photosynthesis into organic matter by plant annually. In this research, ten kinds of woody plants were selected for assessing the carbon fixation ability influenced by sulfur dioxide (SO₂). The tested trees were put into a fumigation chamber for 210 days in a 40-ppb SO₂ environment. The results of this study showed that there was no clear symptom of tested trees under a 40-ppb SO₂ environment. The tested trees could tolerate this polluted environment, but it will impact their CO₂ absorption ability. The carbon fixation ability will reduce as the polluted period lengthens. The carbon fixation potential of tested trees ranged from 2.1 to 15.5 g·CO₂/m²·d with an average of 7.7 g·CO₂/m²·d. The changes in CO₂ absorption volume for Messerschmidia argentea were more stable during the fumigation period with a variation of 102%. Among the tested trees, Diospyros morrisiana had the best carbon fixation potential of 9.19 g·CO₂/m²·d and M. argentea had the least with 2.54 g·CO₂/m²·d.     

华东森林及高山背景区域CO2和CH4浓度变化特征

对国家大气背景监测福建武夷山站2014—2018年的主要温室气体监测数据进行分析,探讨华东森林及高山背景区域大气中CO_2和CH_4浓度的变化特征。结果表明:华东森林及高山区域CO_2背景浓度为414.1×10~(-6)(摩尔分数,下同),5年间呈逐年上升趋势; CH_4背景浓度为1 977×10~(-9),2014—2016年呈逐年上升趋势,2016—2018年保持稳定;两者均具有较明显的季节和月变化特征,CO_2还具有较明显的日变化特征,但季节变化幅度、月平均浓度振幅和日变化幅度均较小,具有区域背景特征。     

中国水泥行业2011—2022年二氧化碳和大气污染物排放分析

2011—2021年,熟料产量呈波动上升趋势。水泥行业整体生产运行水平不断提高,熟料单条生产线平均规模由43.8万t/条提升至115.3万t/条,熟料单位产品综合能耗下降14.4%,熟料单位产品CO₂排放强度下降6.3%,但CO₂排放总量增加了13.8%,与氮氧化物减排趋势形成较大反差,碳污治理水平差距明显。熟料生产中石灰石分解和煤炭燃烧过程的CO₂排放合计占比为92.9%~93.8%,是CO₂排放的主要来源。由于熟料系数偏高、非碳酸盐原料替代不足、综合能耗仍然较高等原因,安徽等7个熟料产量大的省份的CO₂排放强度高于全国。建议实行碳酸盐熟料产量总量控制,逐步降低熟料应用比例,加快建材市场熟料产品和非碳酸盐原料替代,降低高标号水泥使用比例。应大力推广水泥行业节能降耗增效技术,加快熟料落后产能淘汰。对熟料产量大、碳排放强度高的地区,应结合当地碳排放特点,实行差别化降碳策略。各大气污染防治重点区域应因地施策推进水泥行业减污降碳工作。     

The Impact of Uncertainty in Climate Targets and CO2 Storage Availability on Long-Term Emissions Abatement

A major characteristic of our global interactive climate-energy system is the large uncertainty that exists with respect to both future environmental requirements and the means available for fulfilling these. Potentially, a key technology for leading the transition from the current fossil fuel-dominated energy system to a more sustainable one is carbon dioxide capture and storage. Uncertainties exist, however, concerning the large-scale implementability of this technology, such as related to the regional availability of storage sites for the captured CO₂. We analyze these uncertainties from an integrated assessment perspective by using the bottom-up model TIAM-ECN and by studying a set of scenarios that cover a range of different climate targets and technology futures. Our study consists of two main approaches: (1) a sensitivity analysis through the investigation of a number of scenarios under perfect foresight decision making and (2) a stochastic programming exercise that allows for simultaneously considering a set of potential future states-of-the-world. We find that, if a stringent climate (forcing) target is a possibility, it dominates the solution: if deep CO₂ emission reductions are not started as soon as possible, the target may become unreachable. Attaining a stringent climate target comes in any case at a disproportionally high price, which indicates that adaptation measures or climate damages might be preferable to the high mitigation costs such a target implies.     

Influencing factors of carbon emissions in transportation industry based on CD function and LMDI decomposition model: China as an example

Globally, the transportation industry is one of the leading fields that generate the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. While undergoing rapid development, countries worldwide aim to solve the problems involved in high energy consumption. Taking China as an example, this paper studies the main factors of carbon emissions in the transport sector and analyses the decoupling states between carbon emission and economic growth, making energy efficiency policies accordingly. In order to better demonstrate the dependence of the economy on the carbon emissions in China's transportation industry comprehensively, combined with the CD production function, this paper develops the decomposition and decoupling technology based on the LMDI approach. Additionally, it quantifies seven effects: energy emission intensity effect, energy structure effect, energy intensity effect, transportation intensity effect, technology state effect, labor input effect and capital input effect. The results show three major points: (1) From 2001 to 2018, the cumulative carbon emissions of China's transportation industry increased by 633.46 million tons, in which the capital input effect is the key factor driving carbon emissions, accounting for 157.70% of the total cumulative increased emissions, followed by energy structure effect at 10.39%. The labor input effect accounted for the smallest proportion at 2.26%. In this case, the technology state effect is the primary factor in restraining carbon emissions. During the study period, it reduced carbon emissions by 292.27 million tons, accounting for 46.14%. To a certain extent, energy intensity effect, transportation intensity effect and energy emission intensity inhibited carbon emissions, representing 16.67%, 5.32% and 2.22%, respectively. (2) During the research period, two decoupling states existed between carbon emissions and economic growth in China's transportation industry, specifically weak decoupling and expansive coupling. (3) The analysis of decomposition and decoupling state of influencing factors of carbon emissions shows that, on the one hand, factors promoting carbon emissions (capital input effect, energy structure effect and labor input effect) hinder the decoupling process. On the other hand, factors restraining carbon emissions (technology state effect, transportation intensity effect, energy intensity effect and energy emission intensity effect) accelerate the decoupling process. The research findings provide a new perspective for achieving carbon emission reduction in the transportation industry and curbing energy consumption growth.