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Spatial heterogeneity of greenhouse gas emissions from cereal crop production in China

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Abstract

China is a major producer of wheat, maize and rice, which generates massive greenhouse gas emissions due to the consumption of elevated amounts of energy, land, and water, yet there is actually few knowledge on the spatial heterogeneity of greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we introduce a polyphasic approach to quantify the emissions from the land, energy, and water in Chinese cereal production. Results show that total greenhouse gas emissions from wheat, maize and rice crops reached 505.5 Tg CO2eq, including 247.5 Tg CO2eq for the land, 222.1 Tg CO2eq for energy, and 35.9 Tg CO2eq for water. The major greenhouse gas contributors are the land, of 55.8%, and energy to produce nitrogen fertilizers, of 30.5%. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions from cereal production show large-scale spatial heterogeneity at the provincial scale due to differences in crop type, natural resources, and managerial practices. The collective adoption of green technologies and reasonable food trading practices could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the cereal production supply chain, further promoting the carbon neutrality of agriculture.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41901241), the Open Research Fund Program of State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Food Chain Pollution Control (FC2021YB07), the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (2022TC096) and the State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex (SCAPC202102).

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41901241), the Open Research Fund Program of State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Food Chain Pollution Control (FC2021YB07), the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (2022TC096) and the State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex (SCAPC202102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan Xilu Haidian, Beijing, 100193, China

    Minghao Zhuang, Wei Qin, Rui Liu & Lin Zhang

  2. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Food Chain Pollution Control, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Minghao Zhuang & Chun Wang

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, Denmark

    Dario Caro

  4. College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Xiaolin Yang

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  1. Minghao Zhuang
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  2. Dario Caro
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  3. Wei Qin
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  4. Chun Wang
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  5. Xiaolin Yang
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  6. Rui Liu
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  7. Lin Zhang
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Correspondence to Rui Liu or Lin Zhang.

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Zhuang, M., Caro, D., Qin, W. et al. Spatial heterogeneity of greenhouse gas emissions from cereal crop production in China. Environ Chem Lett 20, 3371–3376 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01504-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01504-y

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