Strategies to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agricultural Production Systems

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecosystem, Environment and Climate Change in Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2025) | Viewed by 10147

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: biogeochemistry; greenhouse gas; soil carbon; agriculture; grassland; microorganism; carbon cycling; nitrogen cycling; global change

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Guest Editor
Agricultural Clean Watershed Research Group, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: nitrogen cycle; biochar; straw return; nitrous oxide; nitrate

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Guest Editor
Institutional Center for Shared Technologies and Facilities of Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, China
Interests: agriculture CO2 emission; global change; soil microbe; forest succession; diversity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The dramatic increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere has led to global warming and other environmental problems, posing a considerable challenge to human survival and the development of the Earth. For this reason, many countries have set ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality over the next 30 years. Terrestrial ecosystems, including agricultural production ecosystems, are important sources or sinks of greenhouse gases. Their scientific management will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alleviating industrial pressure and ultimately achieving carbon neutrality goals. At present, it is necessary to have an in-depth understanding of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes and the mechanisms related to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in order to provide a scientific basis for the effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This Special Issue covers a broad range of greenhouse gas mitigation measures in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly in agricultural production systems. This Special Issue is also interested in research on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycling processes, as well as soil, plant, and microbial mechanisms related to greenhouse gas emissions and their mitigation. Other topics closely related to greenhouse gases will also be considered. We welcome all types of articles, including original research, opinions, and reviews.

Dr. Qin Peng
Dr. Xingren Liu
Dr. Wanxia Peng
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • agricultural system
  • ecosystem
  • greenhouse gas
  • CO2
  • N2O
  • CH4
  • carbon cycling
  • nitrogen cycling
  • soil microbe
  • soil and plant

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 2161 KiB  
Article
A Long-Term CO2 Emission Forecasting Under Sustainability Policy Using an Advanced Model Complementing the PAARIMAX Framework
by Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee, Worawat Sa-Ngiamvibool, Prapita Thanarak, Jianhui Luo and Supannika Wattana
Agriculture 2024, 14(12), 2342; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122342 - 20 Dec 2024
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Abstract
The purpose of this research is to develop an advanced model to serve as a strategic tool for the Thailand government in managing the country and to propose ways for the government to exercise state power through proactive measures to address governance gaps [...] Read more.
The purpose of this research is to develop an advanced model to serve as a strategic tool for the Thailand government in managing the country and to propose ways for the government to exercise state power through proactive measures to address governance gaps and ensure long-term sustainability. This research employs a mixed-methods approach. The research methodology involved the following stages: (1) Quantitative research was conducted by creating the best model, which involved conducting path analysis based on an autoregressive integrated moving average with an exogenous variable model (PAARIMAX (1,1,1)). (2) The results of the quantitative research were optimized to facilitate additional qualitative research in order to identify appropriate ways of using state power for long-term sustainability in country management. The study’s findings suggest that the government will need to exercise its state power in the governance of the country through the development of a long-term national management plan (2024–2043). This plan involves the establishment of a new scenario policy wherein a minimum of 35% clean technology and green materials must be utilized within the economic sector. This is primarily due to their significant impact on environmental change. Furthermore, the government should exercise its state power to mandate an immediate reduction in energy consumption of 50%, achieved through the immediate adoption of renewable energy sources. This research utilized the results derived from the PAARIMAX model to conduct further qualitative analysis to fill the gaps, enhance the value of the quantitative research, and align it more effectively with the context of practical application. The study found that the proactive measures suggested by stakeholders must be implemented alongside the urgent establishment of new scenario policies, including for charges and taxes, subsidies and concession taxes, deposit refund systems, and property rights and market creation. Full article
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17 pages, 4316 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Biochar and Straw Return on N2O Emissions and Crop Yield: A Three-Year Field Experiment
by Shangjie Gao, Qin Peng, Xingren Liu and Chunying Xu
Agriculture 2023, 13(11), 2091; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112091 - 3 Nov 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1858
Abstract
To evaluate the effects of application of biochar and straw return for consecutive years on N2O emissions and crop yields in North China, a three-year field experiment of applying biochar and straw following a ten-year application was conducted in a wheat–maize [...] Read more.
To evaluate the effects of application of biochar and straw return for consecutive years on N2O emissions and crop yields in North China, a three-year field experiment of applying biochar and straw following a ten-year application was conducted in a wheat–maize rotation system. Four treatments were set up, including F (NPK fertilizer only); FB (NPK fertilizer + 9.0 t·ha−1 biochar); FS (NPK fertilizer + straw); and FSB ((NPK fertilizer + 9.0 t·ha−1 biochar combined with straw). The results showed that compared with the F treatment, the FB treatment significantly reduced soil N2O emissions by 20.2%, while the FS and FSB treatments increased it by 23.7% and 41.4%, respectively. The FB treatment reduced soil N2O emissions by 15.1% in the wheat season and 23.2% in the maize season, respectively. The FS and FSB treatments increased the N2O emissions by 20.7% and 36.7% in the wheat season, respectively, and by 25.5% and 44.2% in the maize season, respectively. In the wheat season, the soil water content (SWC), NO3-N content and pH were the main influencing factors of the soil N2O emissions. In the maize season, SWC and NO3-N content were the main influencing factors. In addition, the FB, FS and FSB treatments increased the crop yield by 4.99%, 8.40% and 10.25% compared with the F treatment, respectively. In conclusion, consecutive application of biochar can significantly reduce N2O emissions and improve crop yield. Although FS and FSB treatments can also improve the crop yield, they are not beneficial to suppressing N2O emissions. Therefore, the successive application of biochar is an effective measure to reduce N2O emissions and maintain crop yield. Full article
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15 pages, 2243 KiB  
Article
Response of Soil Respiration to Altered Snow Cover in a Typical Temperate Grassland in China
by Yanqi Liu and Qin Peng
Agriculture 2023, 13(11), 2081; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112081 - 31 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1340
Abstract
The snow cover in temperate areas is undergoing significant changes, which may affect soil respiration (Rs), the second largest carbon flux in global carbon cycling. However, currently, there are relatively few in situ field studies on the effects of altered snow cover on [...] Read more.
The snow cover in temperate areas is undergoing significant changes, which may affect soil respiration (Rs), the second largest carbon flux in global carbon cycling. However, currently, there are relatively few in situ field studies on the effects of altered snow cover on Rs in temperate areas during the non-growing season compared to the research on Rs during the growing season. Therefore, it limited the accurate prediction of the characteristics and magnitude of changes in soil carbon emissions in temperate areas under global change scenarios. Here, an in situ field experiment was conducted in a typical grassland in Inner Mongolia in China to explore the characteristics of Rs under three different snow cover treatments, i.e., increasing snow (IS), decreasing snow (DS), and ambient snow that was regarded as the control check treatment (CK). The results showed that the range of Rs flux and cumulative emission flux in all treatments in the non-growing season in the study area ranged from 5.87 ± 0.20 to 55.11 ± 6.42 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 and from 22.81 ± 0.68 to 26.36 ± 0.41 g C m−2, respectively. During the observation period, the depth of the largest snow cover for each treatment did not exceed 18 cm, and none of the snow treatments caused significant variations in Rs flux (p > 0.05). However, the cumulative flux of Rs in the whole non-growing season was only stimulated significantly by 15.6% by the IS treatment compared with that of CK. The relatively high Rs flux in the non-growing season was observed to mainly occur in the soil deeply frozen period (DFP) and the soil melting period (SMP). Further analysis revealed that Rs flux under different snow treatments were mainly positively correlated with soil temperature during SMP. The main factors controlling Rs varied with different sampling periods. Our findings suggest that the non-growing season is also an important period of non-negligible carbon emissions from typical grassland soils in temperate zones. Full article
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Review

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24 pages, 803 KiB  
Review
Impacts of Climate Change and Agricultural Practices on Nitrogen Processes, Genes, and Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions: A Quantitative Review of Meta-Analyses
by Dafeng Hui, Avedananda Ray, Lovish Kasrija and Jaekedah Christian
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020240 - 1 Feb 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5467
Abstract
Microbial-driven processes, including nitrification and denitrification closely related to soil nitrous oxide (N2O) production, are orchestrated by a network of enzymes and genes such as amoA genes from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), narG (nitrate reductase), [...] Read more.
Microbial-driven processes, including nitrification and denitrification closely related to soil nitrous oxide (N2O) production, are orchestrated by a network of enzymes and genes such as amoA genes from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), narG (nitrate reductase), nirS and nirK (nitrite reductase), and nosZ (N2O reductase). However, how climatic factors and agricultural practices could influence these genes and processes and, consequently, soil N2O emissions remain unclear. In this comprehensive review, we quantitatively assessed the effects of these factors on nitrogen processes and soil N2O emissions using mega-analysis (i.e., meta-meta-analysis). The results showed that global warming increased soil nitrification and denitrification rates, leading to an overall increase in soil N2O emissions by 159.7%. Elevated CO2 stimulated both nirK and nirS with a substantial increase in soil N2O emission by 40.6%. Nitrogen fertilization amplified NH4+-N and NO3-N contents, promoting AOB, nirS, and nirK, and caused a 153.2% increase in soil N2O emission. The application of biochar enhanced AOA, nirS, and nosZ, ultimately reducing soil N2O emission by 15.8%. Exposure to microplastics mostly stimulated the denitrification process and increased soil N2O emissions by 140.4%. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanistic underpinnings of nitrogen processes and the microbial regulation of soil N2O emissions. Full article
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