New technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogenous fertilizer in China

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - Tập 110 Số 21 - Trang 8375-8380 - 2013
Weifeng Zhang1, Zhengxia Dou2, Pan He3, Xiaotang Ju3, D. S. Powlson4, D. R. Chadwick5, David Norse6, Yuelai Lu7, Ying Zhang3, Liang Wu3, Xinping Chen3, Kenneth G. Cassman8, Fusuo Zhang3
1Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, and Center for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
2bCenter for Animal Health and Productivity, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA 19348;
3Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, and Center for Resources, Environment, and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;
4cDepartment of Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom;
5dDepartment of Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, United Kingdom;
6eEnvironment Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom;
7fInternational Development UEA, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom; and
8gDepartment of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0915

Tóm tắt

Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has played a key role in enhancing food production and keeping half of the world’s population adequately fed. However, decades of N fertilizer overuse in many parts of the world have contributed to soil, water, and air pollution; reducing excessive N losses and emissions is a central environmental challenge in the 21st century. China’s participation is essential to global efforts in reducing N-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because China is the largest producer and consumer of fertilizer N. To evaluate the impact of China’s use of N fertilizer, we quantify the carbon footprint of China’s N fertilizer production and consumption chain using life cycle analysis. For every ton of N fertilizer manufactured and used, 13.5 tons of CO2-equivalent (eq) (t CO2-eq) is emitted, compared with 9.7 t CO2-eq in Europe. Emissions in China tripled from 1980 [131 terrogram (Tg) of CO2-eq (Tg CO2-eq)] to 2010 (452 Tg CO2-eq). N fertilizer-related emissions constitute about 7% of GHG emissions from the entire Chinese economy and exceed soil carbon gain resulting from N fertilizer use by several-fold. We identified potential emission reductions by comparing prevailing technologies and management practices in China with more advanced options worldwide. Mitigation opportunities include improving methane recovery during coal mining, enhancing energy efficiency in fertilizer manufacture, and minimizing N overuse in field-level crop production. We find that use of advanced technologies could cut N fertilizer-related emissions by 20–63%, amounting to 102–357 Tg CO2-eq annually. Such reduction would decrease China’s total GHG emissions by 2–6%, which is significant on a global scale.

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Tập 110 Số 21

8375-8380

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