Simulation of Effects of Soils,Climate and Management on N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O Emission from Grasslands

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas with a high contribution from agricultural soils and emissions that depend on soil type, climate, crops and management practices. The N₂O emissions therefore need to be included as an integral part of environmental assessments of agricultural production systems. An algorithm for N₂O production and emission from agricultural soils was developed and included in the FASSET whole-farm model. The model simulated carbon and nitrogen (N) turnover on a daily basis. Both nitrification and denitrification was included in the model as sources for N₂O production, and the N₂O emissions depended on soil microbial and physical conditions. The model was tested on experimental data of N₂O emissions from grasslands in UK, Finland and Denmark, differing in climatic conditions, soil properties and management. The model simulated the general time course of N₂O emissions and captured the observed effects of fertiliser and manure management on emissions. Scenario analyses for grazed and cut grasslands were conducted to evaluate the effects of soil texture, climatic conditions, grassland management and N fertilisation on N₂O emissions. The soils varied from coarse sand to sandy loam and the climatic variation was taken to represent the climatic variation within Denmark. N fertiliser rates were varied from 0 to 500 kg N ha⁻¹. The simulated N₂O emissions showed a non-linear response to increasing N rates with increasing emission factors at higher N rates. The simulated emissions increased with increasing soil clay contents. N₂O emissions were slightly increased at higher temperatures, whereas increasing annual rainfall generally lead to decreasing emissions. Emissions were slightly higher from grazed grasslands compared with cut grasslands at similar rates of total N input (fertiliser and animal excreta). The results indicate higher emission factors and thus higher potentials for reducing N₂O emissions for intensively grazed grasslands on fine textured soils than for extensive cut-based grasslands on sandy soils.     

中国农业系统近40年温室气体排放核算

基于排放因子法构建了包含种植业和牲畜养殖业的农业系统温室气体排放核算体系,系统核算了1980-2020年我国全国尺度上的农业系统温室气体排放总量和变化趋势,并在区县级尺度下对1980、2000、2011年的中国农业系统的温室气体排放量进行核算,对比不同阶段农业系统温室气体排放变化的时空异质性规律。研究发现：1980-2020年我国农业系统温室气体排放量呈波动增长趋势,增长了近46%。CH₄是农业系统排放贡献最大的温室气体,占总排放量的47.33%。我国农业系统温室气体排放与不同地区农业生产方式有关,CH₄排放量高的地区主要位于我国主要水稻产区以及旱地作物产区。CO₂排放量高的地区主要位于东北、西北等地区以及华东地区。N₂O排放量较高地区主要位于西北的主要畜牧养殖地区,以及我国农业经济发展水平高的中南部地区。研究有助于揭示我国农业温室气体排放的动态特征,现状规律,以及空间差异性特征,从农业减排角度为实现双碳目标提供科学参考。     

黄河流域农业生产活性氮排放及减排对策

人口增长和城市化进程促使粮食和肉禽奶类食品需求不断增加,由此带来的农业生产活性氮(Nr)大量排放对生态环境及人类健康的影响日益加剧。黄河流域作为中国的粮食主产区,农业生产活动强度高,为研究其Nr排放规律,采用排放因子法估算2000、2005及2010年黄河流域内9省(区)农业生产不同形态Nr的排放源。结果表明：(1)黄河流域9省(区)中,农业生产Nr排放量最大的为河南省,最小的为四川省,河南省Nr排放量是四川的8倍。(2)4种形态Nr排放量从大到小依次为Nr-wp(排放到水体的Nr)、NH₃、N₂O和NO_x。化学氮肥施用和畜禽散养是NH₃排放的最主要贡献源,其次是规模化养殖和放牧饲养,四者贡献率达85%以上。农田作物系统径流、淋洗以及畜禽养殖流失淋洗对Nr-wp排放的贡献率各占1/3左右。四季非蔬菜旱地和畜禽养殖是N₂O排放的主要来源,其贡献率之和大于66%。(3)黄河流域内9省(区)单位农业GDP、单位耕地面积、单位农村人口Nr排放强度最大的均为青海省,单位农业GDP和单位农...     

Contribution of N2O to the greenhouse gas balance of first-generation biofuels

In this study, we analyze the impact of fertilizer‐ and manure‐induced N₂O emissions due to energy crop production on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when conventional transportation fuels are replaced by first‐generation biofuels (also taking account of other GHG emissions during the entire life cycle). We calculate the nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions by applying a statistical model that uses spatial data on climate and soil. For the land use that is assumed to be replaced by energy crop production (the ‘reference land‐use system’), we explore a variety of options, the most important of which are cropland for food production, grassland, and natural vegetation. Calculations are also done in the case that emissions due to energy crop production are fully additional and thus no reference is considered. The results are combined with data on other emissions due to biofuels production that are derived from existing studies, resulting in total GHG emission reduction potentials for major biofuels compared with conventional fuels. The results show that N₂O emissions can have an important impact on the overall GHG balance of biofuels, though there are large uncertainties. The most important ones are those in the statistical model and the GHG emissions not related to land use. Ethanol produced from sugar cane and sugar beet are relatively robust GHG savers: these biofuels change the GHG emissions by −103% to −60% (sugar cane) and −58% to −17% (sugar beet), compared with conventional transportation fuels and depending on the reference land‐use system that is considered. The use of diesel from palm fruit also results in a relatively constant and substantial change of the GHG emissions by −75% to −39%. For corn and wheat ethanol, the figures are −38% to 11% and −107% to 53%, respectively. Rapeseed diesel changes the GHG emissions by −81% to 72% and soybean diesel by −111% to 44%. Optimized crop management, which involves the use of state‐of‐the‐art agricultural technologies combined with an optimized fertilization regime and the use of nitrification inhibitors, can reduce N₂O emissions substantially and change the GHG emissions by up to −135 percent points (pp) compared with conventional management. However, the uncertainties in the statistical N₂O emission model and in the data on non‐land‐use GHG emissions due to biofuels production are large; they can change the GHG emission reduction by between −152 and 87 pp.     

Examining the relationships between carbon emissions and land supply in China

China's CO₂ reduction is crucial in mitigating global and regional climate change. Land resources used by industrial enterprises in China come from official land transactions, which indirectly affects carbon emissions. The quantitative examination of the relationship between land supply and carbon emissions can provide potential pathways and strategies for regional carbon emission reduction. For this purpose, we innovatively integrated land transaction data from China's industrial enterprise and carbon emission databases. Using this integrated database, we estimated the carbon emission changes from land transactions from 2006 to 2013, focusing on the transformation of agricultural land into industrial land in China's 331 cities. The results showed that land transactions could cause high carbon emissions in China. The industry with the largest land transaction area during the study period was the production and supply of electric power, steam, and hot water, and the one with the highest increase in carbon emissions from land transactions was the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals. By further examining the typology of the relationships between land transactions and carbon emissions for these cities, a scientific reference for pathways for reducing carbon emissions in cities was generated. Specifically, the results showed that cities with high land supply and carbon emissions were mainly resource-based or economic priority cities for development. For these cities, the entry threshold of energy-intensive industries must be raised, and the supply of land for clean energy enterprises should be increased. In contrast, cities with low land supply but high emissions primarily had depleting resources, high ecological and environmental pressure, and relatively lagging economic development. Correspondingly, the government should use the land supply to guide industries to reduce their dependence on traditional fossil energy. Regardless of the type of city in terms of relationships between carbon emissions and land transactions, indicators of carbon emission intensity should be included and carefully considered in land use planning and land transaction processes in the future.     

Fluxes of N2O,CH4 and CO2 on afforested boreal agricultural soils

After drainage of natural boreal peatlands, the decomposition of organic matter increases and peat soil may turn into a net source of CO₂ and N₂O, whereas CH₄ emission is known to decrease. Afforestation is a potential mitigation strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emission from organic agricultural soils. A static chamber technique was used to evaluate the fluxes of CH₄, N₂O and CO₂ from three boreal organic agricultural soils in western Finland, afforested 1, 6 or 23 years before this study. The mean emissions of CH₄ and N₂O during the growing seasons did not correlate with the age of the tree stand. All sites were sources of N₂O. The highest daily N₂O emission during the growing season, measured in the oldest site, was as high as 29 mg N₂O m^–2d^–1. In general, organic agricultural soils are sinks for methane. Here, the oldest site acted as a small sink for methane, whereas the two youngest afforested organic soils were sources for methane with maximum emission rates (up to 154 mg m^–2d^–1) similar to those reported for minerogenous natural peatlands. Soil respiration rates decreased with the age of the forest. The high soil respiration in the younger sites, probably resulted from the high biomass production of herbs, could create soil anaerobiosis and increase methane production. Our results show that afforestation of agricultural peat soils does not abruptly terminate the N₂O emissions during the first two decades, and afforestation can even enhance methane emission for a few years. The carbon accumulation in the developing tree stand can partly compensate the carbon loss from soil.     

Australian wheat production expected to decrease by the late 21st century

Climate change threatens global wheat production and food security, including the wheat industry in Australia. Many studies have examined the impacts of changes in local climate on wheat yield per hectare, but there has been no assessment of changes in land area available for production due to changing climate. It is also unclear how total wheat production would change under future climate when autonomous adaptation options are adopted. We applied species distribution models to investigate future changes in areas climatically suitable for growing wheat in Australia. A crop model was used to assess wheat yield per hectare in these areas. Our results show that there is an overall tendency for a decrease in the areas suitable for growing wheat and a decline in the yield of the northeast Australian wheat belt. This results in reduced national wheat production although future climate change may benefit South Australia and Victoria. These projected outcomes infer that similar wheat‐growing regions of the globe might also experience decreases in wheat production. Some cropping adaptation measures increase wheat yield per hectare and provide significant mitigation of the negative effects of climate change on national wheat production by 2041–2060. However, any positive effects will be insufficient to prevent a likely decline in production under a high CO₂ emission scenario by 2081–2100 due to increasing losses in suitable wheat‐growing areas. Therefore, additional adaptation strategies along with investment in wheat production are needed to maintain Australian agricultural production and enhance global food security. This scenario analysis provides a foundation towards understanding changes in Australia's wheat cropping systems, which will assist in developing adaptation strategies to mitigate climate change impacts on global wheat production.     

Projecting future N2O emissions from agricultural soils in Belgium

This study analyses the spatial and temporal variability of N₂O emissions from the agricultural soils of Belgium. Annual N₂O emission rates are estimated with two statistical models, MCROPS and MGRASS, which take account of the impact of changes in land use, climate, and nitrogen‐fertilization rate. The models are used to simulate the temporal trend of N₂O emissions between 1990 and 2050 for a 10′ latitude and longitude grid. The results are also aggregated to the regional and national scale to facilitate comparison with other studies and national inventories. Changes in climate and land use are derived from the quantitative scenarios developed by the ATEAM project based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‐Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (IPCC‐SRES) storylines. The average N₂O flux for Belgium was estimated to be 8.6 × 10⁶ kg N₂O‐N yr⁻¹ (STD = 2.1 × 10⁶ kg N₂O‐N yr⁻¹) for the period 1990–2000. Fluxes estimated for a single year (1996) give a reasonable agreement with published results at the national and regional scales for the same year. The scenario‐based simulations of future N₂O emissions show the strong influence of land‐use change. The scenarios A1FI, B1 and B2 produce similar results between 2001 and 2050 with a national emission rate in 2050 of 11.9 × 10⁶ kg N₂O‐N yr⁻¹. The A2 scenario, however, is very sensitive to the reduction in agricultural land areas (−14% compared with the 1990 baseline), which results in a reduced emission rate in 2050 of 8.3 × 10⁶ kg N₂O‐N yr⁻¹. Neither the climatic change scenarios nor the reduction in nitrogen fertilization rate could explain these results leading to the conclusion that N₂O emissions from Belgian agricultural soils will be more markedly affected by changes in agricultural land areas.     

Estimating 20‐year land‐use change and derived CO2 emissions associated with crops,pasture and forestry in Brazil and each of its 27 states

Land‐use change (LUC) in Brazil has important implications on global climate change, ecosystem services and biodiversity, and agricultural expansion plays a critical role in this process. Concerns over these issues have led to the need for estimating the magnitude and impacts associated with that, which are increasingly reported in the environmental assessment of products. Currently, there is an extensive debate on which methods are more appropriate for estimating LUC and related emissions and regionalized estimates are lacking for Brazil, which is a world leader in agricultural production (e.g. food, fibres and bioenergy). We developed a method for estimating scenarios of past 20‐year LUC and derived CO₂ emission rates associated with 64 crops, pasture and forestry in Brazil as whole and in each of its 27 states, based on time‐series statistics and in accordance with most used carbon‐footprinting standards. The scenarios adopted provide a range between minimum and maximum rates of CO₂ emissions from LUC according to different possibilities of land‐use transitions, which can have large impacts in the results. Specificities of Brazil, like multiple cropping and highly heterogeneous carbon stocks, are also addressed. The highest CO₂ emission rates are observed in the Amazon biome states and crops with the highest rates are those that have undergone expansion in this region. Some states and crops showing large agricultural areas have low emissions associated, especially in southern and eastern Brazil. Native carbon stocks and time of agricultural expansion are the most decisive factors to the patterns of emissions. Some implications on LUC estimation methods and standards and on agri‐environmental policies are discussed.     

Effects of forest management on the carbon dioxide emissions of wood energy in integrated production of timber and energy biomass

The aim of this work was to study the sensitivity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from wood energy to different forest management regimes when aiming at an integrated production of timber and energy biomass. For this purpose, the production of timber and energy biomass in Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst] and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands was simulated using an ecosystem model (SIMA) on sites of varying fertility under different management regimes, including various thinning and fertilization treatments over a fixed simulation period of 80 years. The simulations included timber (sawlogs, pulp), energy biomass (small‐sized stem wood) and/or logging residues (top part of stem, branches and needles) from first thinning, and logging residues and stumps from final felling for energy production. In this context, a life cycle analysis/emission calculation tool was used to assess the CO₂ emissions per unit of energy (kg CO₂ MWh^?1) which was produced based on the use of wood energy. The energy balance (GJ ha^?1) of the supply chain was also calculated. The evaluation of CO₂ emissions and energy balance of the supply chain considered the whole forest bioenergy production chain, representing all operations needed to grow and harvest biomass and transport it to a power plant for energy production. Fertilization and high precommercial stand density clearly increased stem wood production (i.e. sawlogs, pulp and small‐sized stem wood), but also the amount of logging residues, stump wood and roots for energy use. Similarly, the lowest CO₂ emissions per unit of energy were obtained, regardless of tree species and site fertility, when applying extremely or very dense precommercial stand density, as well as fertilization three times during the rotation. For Norway spruce such management also provided a high energy balance (GJ ha^?1). On the other hand, the highest energy balance for Scots pine was obtained concurrently with extremely dense precommercial stands without fertilization on the medium‐fertility site, while on the low‐fertility site fertilization three times during the rotation was needed to attain this balance. Thus, clear differences existed between species and sites. In general, the forest bioenergy supply chain seemed to be effective; i.e. the fossil fuel energy consumption varied between 2.2% and 2.8% of the energy produced based on the forest biomass. To conclude, the primary energy use and CO₂ emissions related to the forest operations, including the production and application of fertilizer, were small in relation to the increased potential of energy biomass.     

Effect of Change of Forest Carbon Storage on Net Carbon Dioxide Balance of Wood Use for Energy in Japan

This study analyzed the net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission reductions between 2005 and 2050 by using wood for energy under various scenarios of forest management and energy conversion technology in Japan, considering both CO₂ emission reductions from replacement of fossil fuels and changes in carbon storage in forests. According to our model, wood production for energy results in a significant reduction of carbon storage levels in forests (by 46% to 77% in 2050 from the 2005 level). Thus, the net CO₂ emission reduction when wood is used for energy becomes drastically smaller. Conventional tree production for energy increases net CO₂ emissions relative to preserving forests, but fast‐growing tree production may reduce net CO₂ emissions more than preserving forests does. When wood from fast‐growing trees is used to generate electricity with gas turbines, displacing natural gas, the net CO₂ emission reduction from the combination of fast‐growing trees and electricity generation with gas turbines is about 58% of the CO₂ emission reduction from electricity generation from gas turbines alone in 2050, and an energy conversion efficiency of around 20% or more is required to obtain net reductions over the entire period until 2050. When wood is used to produce bioethanol, displacing gasoline, net reductions are realized after 2030, provided that heat energy is recovered from residues from ethanol production. These results show the importance of considering the change in carbon storage when estimating the net CO₂ emission reduction effect of the wood use for energy.     

How do 28 European Union Member States perform in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions? It depends on what we look at: Application of the multi-criteria analysis

European Union (EU) Member States have agreed to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including emissions from agricultural sector. The aggregated GHG emission rate (i.e. t CO₂ eq. from agricultural sector per country) is commonly used to measure the overall size of agriculture’s influence on climate. And indeed, since 2005, EU has managed to decrease its aggregated GHG emissions by 3.1%. However, the question is—does that mean that EU’s agriculture has become less emission intensive? This paper answers the question by providing a different perspective for the assessment and comparison of the agricultural GHG emissions in 28 EU Member States. It is done by applying three different approaches, including creation of derived indicators and application of multi-criteria analysis (TOPSIS), which is a novel approach for comparison of agricultural GHG emission mitigation performance. The results show that each EU Member State performs very differently in emission intensities. Even more, the emission intensity results show an alarming tendency of increase in most of the EU Member States, which indicates that the measured changes in aggregate agricultural GHG emission rates are misleading. Therefore, the paper suggests reconsidering the policy targets for GHG emission limits.     

Decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions from global agricultural production: 1970–2050

Since 1970 global agricultural production has more than doubled; contributing ~1/4 of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) burden in 2010. Food production must increase to feed our growing demands, but to address climate change, GHG emissions must decrease. Using an identity approach, we estimate and analyse past trends in GHG emission intensities from global agricultural production and land‐use change and project potential future emissions. The novel Kaya–Porter identity framework deconstructs the entity of emissions from a mix of multiple sources of GHGs into attributable elements allowing not only a combined analysis of the total level of all emissions jointly with emissions per unit area and emissions per unit product. It also allows us to examine how a change in emissions from a given source contributes to the change in total emissions over time. We show that agricultural production and GHGs have been steadily decoupled over recent decades. Emissions peaked in 1991 at ~12 Pg CO₂‐eq. yr^?1 and have not exceeded this since. Since 1970 GHG emissions per unit product have declined by 39% and 44% for crop‐ and livestock‐production, respectively. Except for the energy‐use component of farming, emissions from all sources have increased less than agricultural production. Our projected business‐as‐usual range suggests that emissions may be further decoupled by 20–55% giving absolute agricultural emissions of 8.2–14.5 Pg CO₂‐eq. yr^?1 by 2050, significantly lower than many previous estimates that do not allow for decoupling. Beyond this, several additional costcompetitive mitigation measures could reduce emissions further. However, agricultural GHG emissions can only be reduced to a certain level and a simultaneous focus on other parts of the food‐system is necessary to increase food security whilst reducing emissions. The identity approach presented here could be used as a methodological framework for more holistic food systems analysis.     

Infield greenhouse gas emissions from sugarcane soils in Brazil: effects from synthetic and organic fertilizer application and crop trash accumulation

Bioethanol from sugarcane is becoming an increasingly important alternative energy source worldwide as it is considered to be both economically and environmentally sustainable. Besides being produced from a tropical perennial grass with high photosynthetic efficiency, sugarcane ethanol is commonly associated with low N fertilizer use because sugarcane from Brazil, the world's largest sugarcane producer, has a low N demand. In recent years, several models have predicted that the use of sugarcane ethanol in replacement to fossil fuel could lead to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings. However, empirical data that can be used to validate model predictions and estimates from indirect methodologies are scarce, especially with regard to emissions associated with different fertilization methods and agricultural management practices commonly used in sugarcane agriculture in Brazil. In this study, we provide in situ data on emissions of three GHG (CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄) from sugarcane soils in Brazil and assess how they vary with fertilization methods and management practices. We measured emissions during the two main phases of the sugarcane crop cycle (plant and ratoon cane), which include different fertilization methods and field conditions. Our results show that N₂O and CO₂ emissions in plant cane varied significantly depending on the fertilization method and that waste products from ethanol production used as organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizer, as it is the common practice in Brazil, increase emission rates significantly. Cumulatively, the highest emissions were observed for ratoon cane treated with vinasse (liquid waste from ethanol production) especially as the amount of crop trash on the soil surface increased. Emissions of CO₂ and N₂O were 6.9 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 and 7.5 kg ha^?1 yr^?1, respectively, totaling about 3000 kg in CO₂ equivalent ha^?1 yr^?1.     

Comparison of Life-Cycle Inventory Databases: A Case Study Using Soybean Production

Three established life-cycle inventories of agricultural operations were used to generate air emissions data for soybean production: the greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy use in transportation (GREET) model; the economic input-output life-cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) model; and SimaPro software equipped with the Franklin database. EIO-LCA and GREET baseline data were compared to evaluate differences in boundary definitions that apply specifically to U.S. soybean agriculture and processing, which resulted in several major findings. The EIO model estimated for emissions of particulate matter less than 10 micrograms (PM10) resulting from wind erosion that were not included in GREET, but neglected indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from fertilizer application. EIO also assumed significantly lower process energy requirements and lower volatile organic compounds (VOC) for soybean crushing and oil extraction. The GREET and SimaPro models were compared using identical boundary and assumption data, to reveal major discrepancies in fundamental assumptions of energy inventories. Key emission factors varied by several orders of magnitude for basic energy generation and combustion processes, potentially impacting results for any inventory analysis that contains significant energy consumption. The Franklin database assumed VOC and sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions more than an order of magnitude higher than GREET for all categories investigated, with significantly lower N2O and methane (CH4) emission factors.     

Afforestation does not necessarily reduce nitrous oxide emissions from managed boreal peat soils

Pristine peatlands have generally low nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions but drainage and management practices enhance the microbial processes and associated N₂O emissions. It is assumed that leaving peat soils from intensive management, such as agriculture, will decrease their N₂O emissions. In this paper we report how the annual N₂O emission rates will change when agricultural peat soil is either left abandoned or afforested and also N₂O emissions from afforested peat extraction sites. In addition, we evaluated a biogeochemical model (DNDC) with a view to explaining GHG emissions from peat soils under different land uses. The abandoned agricultural peat soils had lower mean annual N₂O emissions (5.5?±?5.4?kg?N?ha^?1) than the peat soils in active agricultural use in Finland. Surprisingly, N₂O emissions from afforested organic agricultural soils (12.8?±?9.4?kg?N?ha^?1) were similar to those from organic agricultural soils in active use. These emissions were much higher than those from the forests on nutrient rich peat soils. Abandoned and afforested peat extraction sites emitted more N₂O, (2.4?±?2.1?kg?N?ha^?1), than the areas under active peat extraction (0.7?±?0.5?kg?N?ha^?1). Emissions outside the growing season contributed significantly, 40% on an average, to the annual emissions. The DNDC model overestimated N₂O emission rates during the growing season and indicated no emissions during winter. The differences in the N₂O emission rates were not associated with the age of the land use change, vegetation characteristics, peat depth or peat bulk density. The highest N₂O emissions occurred when the soil C:N ratio was below 20 with a significant variability within the measured C:N range (13–27). Low soil pH, high nitrate availability and water table depth (50–70?cm) were also associated with high N₂O emissions. Mineral soil has been added to most of the soils studied here to improve the fertility and this may have an impact on the N₂O emissions. We infer from the multi-site dataset presented in this paper that afforestation is not necessarily an efficient way to reduce N₂O emissions from drained boreal organic fields.     

CH4 and N2O emissions from smallholder agricultural systems on tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia

There are limited data for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from smallholder agricultural systems in tropical peatlands, with data for non-CO₂ emissions from human-influenced tropical peatlands particularly scarce. The aim of this study was to quantify soil CH₄ and N₂O fluxes from smallholder agricultural systems on tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia and assess their environmental controls. The study was carried out in four regions in Malaysia and Indonesia. CH₄ and N₂O fluxes and environmental parameters were measured in cropland, oil palm plantation, tree plantation and forest. Annual CH₄ emissions (in kg CH₄ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) were: 70.7 ± 29.5, 2.1 ± 1.2, 2.1 ± 0.6 and 6.2 ± 1.9 at the forest, tree plantation, oil palm and cropland land-use classes, respectively. Annual N₂O emissions (in kg N₂O ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) were: 6.5 ± 2.8, 3.2 ± 1.2, 21.9 ± 11.4 and 33.6 ± 7.3 in the same order as above, respectively. Annual CH₄ emissions were strongly determined by water table depth (WTD) and increased exponentially when annual WTD was above −25 cm. In contrast, annual N₂O emissions were strongly correlated with mean total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) in soil water, following a sigmoidal relationship, up to an apparent threshold of 10 mg N L⁻¹ beyond which TDN seemingly ceased to be limiting for N₂O production. The new emissions data for CH₄ and N₂O presented here should help to develop more robust country level ‘emission factors’ for the quantification of national GHG inventory reporting. The impact of TDN on N₂O emissions suggests that soil nutrient status strongly impacts emissions, and therefore, policies which reduce N-fertilisation inputs might contribute to emissions mitigation from agricultural peat landscapes. However, the most important policy intervention for reducing emissions is one that reduces the conversion of peat swamp forest to agriculture on peatlands in the first place.     

Carbon stock changes and carbon sequestration potential of Flemish cropland soils

Evaluations of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are often based on assigning a carbon density to each one of a number of ecosystems or soil classes considered, using data from soil profiles within these categories. A better approach, in which the use of classification methods by which extrapolation of SOC data to larger areas is avoided, can only be used if enough data are available at a sufficiently small scale. Over 190 000 SOC measurements (0–24 cm) have been made in the Flemish cropland (the Northern part of Belgium) in the 1989–2000 period. These SOC data were grouped into 3‐year periods and as means plus standard deviation per (part of) community (polygons). This large dataset was used to calculate SOC stocks and their evolution with time, without data extrapolation. Using a detailed soil map, larger spatial groups of polygons were created based on soil texture and spatial location. Linear regression analysis showed that in the entire study area, SOC stocks had decreased or at best had remained stable. In total, a yearly decrease of 354 kton OC yr^?1 was calculated, which corresponds with a net CO₂ emission of 1238 kton CO₂ yr^?1. Specific regions with a high carbon sequestration potential were identified, based on SOC losses during the 1989–2000 period and the mean 1999 SOC content, compared to the average SOC content of soils in Flanders with a similar soil texture. When restoring the SOC stocks to their 1990 level, we estimated the carbon sequestration potential of the Flemish cropland soils to be some 300 kton CO₂ yr^?1 at best, which corresponds to a 40‐year restoration period. In conclusion, we can say that in regions where agricultural production is very intense, carbon sequestration in the cropland may make only a very modest contribution to a country's effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.     

Opportunities for avoidance of land‐use change through substitution of soya bean meal and cereals in European livestock diets with bioethanol coproducts

An analysis is presented which quantifies the potential for distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS, a coproduct of wheat bioethanol production) to replace soya bean meal (SBM) and cereals in livestock rations. A major proportion of the SBM imported into Europe as a protein‐rich feedstuff for livestock comes from South America, where land‐use change (LUC) is associated with high carbon emissions. Production of DDGS can therefore reduce LUC in South America by substitution of SBM in animal feed. The analysis indicates that a single bioethanol distillery processing 1 million tonnes of wheat, and producing ca. 330 000 tonnes of DDGS per annum, would substitute at least 136 493 tonnes of whole soya beans grown on 47 725 ha of land, and save greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 0.63 million tonnes CO₂ per annum. By growing sugar beet and wheat in an average ratio of 0.06 : 0.94 on 1 ha of land in Europe, the net area of agricultural land required to produce feed ingredients equivalent to 6.08 t of sugar beet pulp (SBP) and 1.72 t of DDGS associated with 2363 L of bioethanol, is reduced to 0.40 ha. This accounts for 0.42 ha of soya that is not required when DDGS displaces SBM, and 0.18 ha of wheat that is not required when DDGS and SBP displace wheat in livestock rations.     

Methane emissions in two drained peat agro-ecosystems with high and low agricultural intensity

Methane (CH₄) emissions were compared for an intensively and extensively managed agricultural area on peat soils in the Netherlands to evaluate the effect of reduced management on the CH₄ balance. Chamber measurements (photoacoustic methods) for CH₄ were performed for a period of three years in the contributing landscape elements in the research sites. Various factors influencing CH₄ emissions were evaluated and temperature of water and soil was found to be the main driver in both sites. For upscaling of CH₄ fluxes to landscape scale, regression models were used which were specific for each of the contributing landforms. Ditches and bordering edges were emission hotspots and emitted together between 60% and 70% of the total terrestrial CH₄ emissions. Annual terrestrial CH₄ fluxes were estimated to be 203 (±48%), 162 (±60%) and 146 (±60%) kg CH₄ ha^?1 and 157 (±63%), 180 (±54%) and 163 (±59%) kg CH₄ ha^?1 in the intensively managed site and extensively managed site, for 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. About 70% of the CH₄ was emitted in the summer period. Farm based emissions caused per year an additional 257 kg CH₄ ha^?1 and 172 kg CH₄ ha^?1 for the intensively managed site and extensively managed site, respectively. To further evaluate the effect of agricultural activity on the CH₄ balance, the annual CH₄ fluxes of the two managed sites were also compared to the emissions of a natural peat site with no management and high ground water levels. By comparing the terrestrial and additional farm based emissions of the three sites, we finally concluded that transformation of intensively managed agricultural land to nature development will lead to an increase in terrestrial CH₄ emission, but will not by definition lead to a significant increase in CH₄ emission when farm based emissions are included.