eprintid: 13985
rev_number: 11
eprint_status: archive
userid: 2
dir: disk0/00/01/39/85
datestamp: 2016-11-23 07:04:58
lastmod: 2021-08-27 17:28:05
status_changed: 2016-11-23 07:04:58
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
item_issues_count: 1
creators_name: Carlson, K.M.
creators_name: Gerber, J.S.
creators_name: Mueller, N.D.
creators_name: Herrero, M.
creators_name: MacDonald, G.K.
creators_name: Brauman, K.A.
creators_name: Havlik, P.
creators_name: O’Connell, C.S.
creators_name: Johnson, J.A.
creators_name: Saatchi, S.
creators_name: West, P.C.
creators_id: 1868
creators_orcid: 0000-0001-5551-5085
title: Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of global croplands
ispublished: pub
divisions: prog_esm
abstract: Stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from croplands as agricultural demand grows is a critical component of climate change mitigation1, 2, 3. Emissions intensity metrics—including carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per kilocalorie produced (‘production intensity’)—can highlight regions, management practices, and crops as potential foci for mitigation4, 5, 6, 7. Yet the spatial and crop-wise distribution of emissions intensity has been uncertain. Here, we develop global crop-specific circa 2000 estimates of GHG emissions and GHG intensity in high spatial detail, reporting the effects of rice paddy management, peatland draining, and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on CH4, CO2 and N2O emissions. Global mean production intensity is 0.16 Mg CO2e M kcal−1, yet certain cropping practices contribute disproportionately to emissions. Peatland drainage (3.7 Mg CO2e M kcal−1)—concentrated in Europe and Indonesia—accounts for 32% of these cropland emissions despite peatlands producing just 1.1% of total crop kilocalories. Methane emissions from rice (0.58 Mg CO2e M kcal-1), a crucial food staple supplying 15% of total crop kilocalories, contribute 48% of cropland emissions, with outsized production intensity in Vietnam. In contrast, N2O emissions from N fertilizer application (0.033 Mg CO2e M kcal−1) generate only 20% of cropland emissions. We find that current total GHG emissions are largely unrelated to production intensity across crops and countries. Climate mitigation policies should therefore be directed to locations where crops have both high emissions and high intensities.
date: 2017
id_number: 10.1038/nclimate3158
creators_browse_id: 119
full_text_status: none
publication: Nature Climate Change
volume: 7
number: 1
pagerange: 63-68
refereed: TRUE
issn: 1758-678X
coversheets_dirty: FALSE
fp7_project: no
fp7_type: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
citation:   Carlson, K.M., Gerber, J.S., Mueller, N.D., Herrero, M., MacDonald, G.K., Brauman, K.A., Havlik, P. <https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/view/iiasa/119.html> ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5551-5085 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5551-5085>, O’Connell, C.S., et al.  (2017).  Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of global croplands.   Nature Climate Change 7 (1) 63-68. 10.1038/nclimate3158 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3158>.