| 
					
						|  |  
    					|  |  
    					| Greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic from agriculture in China |  
						| Jianing TIAN1, Chuanhui GU1,2(  ), Yanchao BAI3 |  
						| 1. Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan 215316, China 2. Environmental Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan 215311, China
 3. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
 |  
						|  |  
					
						| 
								
									|  
          
          
            
              
				
								                
													
													    |  |  
														| 
													
													    | Abstract   ● Methane led China’s growth in net greenhouse gas emissions over the pandemic. ● N2O was linked to fertilizers and waste management. ● CO2 emissions varied by region, calling for tailored mitigation approaches. ● COVID-19 boosted methane from pig farming disruptions. To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural carbon emissions in China, the greenhouse gas emissions generated by crop and livestock production, and agricultural material and energy inputs in China from 2019 to 2021 were systematically calculated. It was found that from 2019 to 2021, Net greenhouse gas emissions (NGHGE) from agriculture in China had an increasing trend. Methane emissions ranked first in NGHGE, with an annual proportion exceeding 65% and an increasing annual trend. CH4 emissions were primarily influenced by enteric fermentation and rice production. Nitrous oxide emissions accounted for around 22% of annual NGHGE and decreased from 2019 to 2021. The main sources of N2O emissions were the use of nitrogen fertilizers and manure management. Carbon dioxide emissions accounted for about 18% annually, with diesel and agricultural electricity use contributing to over 60% of CO2 emissions. Soil carbon sequestration represented about a 6.1% lowering of NGHGE. The combined proportion of CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation and rice production accounted for over 50% of total GHG emissions. The changes in NGHGE were mainly caused by disturbance of the livestock industry during the pandemic. |  
															| Keywords 
																																																				Agricultural systems  
																		  																																				emission factors  
																		  																																				greenhouse gases  
																		  																																				soil carbon sequestration |  
															| Corresponding Author(s):
																Chuanhui GU |  
															| Just Accepted Date: 28 April 2024  
																																														Online First Date: 17 May 2024   
																																														Issue Date: 17 July 2024 |  |  
								            
								                
																																												
															| 1 | Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Intergovernmental . Climate Change and Land: an IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems. In: Land–Climate Interactions. IPCC, 2019 |  
															| 2 | Y, Tian B, Li J B Zhang . Research on stage characteristics and factor decomposition of agricultural land carbon emission in China. Journal of China University of Geosciences (Social Sciences Edition), 2011, 11(1): 59–63 (in Chinese) |  
															| 3 | J, Fargione J, Hill D, Tilman S, Polasky P Hawthorne . Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science, 2008, 319(5867): 1235–1238 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152747
 |  
															| 4 | C B M, Arevalo J S, Bhatti S X, Chang D Sidders . Land use change effects on ecosystem carbon balance: from agricultural to hybrid poplar plantation. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2011, 141(3−4): 342–349 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.03.013
 |  
															| 5 | G Z, Li Z Z Li . Carbon emissions decomposition analysis on agricultural energy consumption—Based LMDI model. Journal of Agrotechnical Economics, 2010, 10: 66−72 (in Chinese) |  
															| 6 | M H, Zhuang X, Lu D, Caro J, Gao J, Zhang B, Cullen Q W Li . Emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases from livestock in China during 2000–2015: magnitude, trends and spatiotemporal patterns. Journal of Environmental Management, 2019, 242: 40–45 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.04.079
 |  
															| 7 | J B, Zhou M M, Jiang G Q Chen . Estimation of methane and nitrous oxide emission from livestock and poultry in China during 1949–2003. Energy Policy, 2007, 35(7): 3759–3767 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.01.013
 |  
															| 8 | G F, Wang P, Liu J M, Hu F Zhang . Agriculture-induced N2O emissions and reduction strategies in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022, 19(19): 12193 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912193
 |  
															| 9 | H P, Duan Y, Zhang J B, Zhao X M Bian . Carbon footprint analysis of farmland ecosystem in China. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 2011, 25(5): 203−208 (in Chinese) |  
															| 10 | S M M, Islam Y K, Gaihre M R, Islam M N, Ahmed M, Akter U, Singh B O Sander . Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from irrigated rice cultivation through improved fertilizer and water management. Journal of Environmental Management, 2022, 307: 114520 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114520
 |  
															| 11 | X Q, Huang X C, Xu Q Q, Wang L, Zhang X, Gao L H Chen . Assessment of agricultural carbon emissions and their spatiotemporal changes in China, 1997–2016. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019, 16(17): 3105 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173105
 |  
															| 12 | S M M, Islam Y K, Gaihre M R, Islam M, Akter A A, Mahmud U, Singh B O Sander . Effects of water management on greenhouse gas emissions from farmers’ rice fields in Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, 734: 139382 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139382
 |  
															| 13 | World Meteorological Organization (WMO). United in Science 2020. Switzerland: WMO, 2020. Available at WMO website on September 9, 2020 |  
															| 14 | Centre for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) National . Guidelines for the Preparation of Provincial Greenhouse Gas Inventories (Trial). China: NCSC, 2021. Available at NCSC website on March 26, 2021 |  
															| 15 | of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE) Ministry . Emission Factors of China’s Regional Power Grid Baseline for 2019 Emission Reduction Project. China: MEE, 2020. Available at MEE website on December 29, 2020 |  
															| 16 | of China (EOC) Encyclopedia . Rural Electricity Consumption. China: EOC, 2021. Available at EOC website on November 23, 2023 |  
															| 17 | A, Dubey R Lal . Carbon footprint and sustainability of agricultural production systems in Punjab, India, and Ohio, USA. Journal of Crop Improvement, 2009, 23(4): 332–350 https://doi.org/10.1080/15427520902969906
 |  
															| 18 | S T, Li J Y Jin . Characteristics of nutrients input/output and nutrient balance in different regions of China. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 2011, 44(20): 4207−4229 (in Chinese) |  
															| 19 | National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center. Soil Basic Nutrient Data Set for Soil Testing and Formulated Fertilization (2005–2014). Beijing: China Agriculture Press, 2015 (in Chinese) |  
															| 20 | H Y, Zuo B, Zhang Z H, Huang K X, Wei H, Zhu J Q Tan . Effect analysis on SOC values of the power lithium manganate battery during discharging process and its intelligent estimation. Energy, 2021, 238(Part B): 121854 |  
															| 21 | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis. In: Supplementary Material. IPCC, 2021 |  
															| 22 | Y H, Gao A C Serrenho . Greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizers could be reduced by up to one-fifth of current levels by 2050 with combined interventions. Nature Food, 2023, 4(2): 170–178 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00698-w
 |  
															| 23 | J Q, Hou C Z, Yu Y, Xu H, Li A D, Cai M Y, Ye Z F, Ma G N, Cui J Zhu . Reimagining carbon emission mitigation in sustainable agriculture: uncovering farmers’ propensity for straw recycling. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2023, 7: 1288763 https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1288763
 |  
															| 24 | D, Zhang J B, Shen F S, Zhang Y E, Li W F Zhang . Carbon footprint of grain production in China. Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1): 4126 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04182-x
 |  
															| 25 | Z Y, Fan X B, Qi L L, Zeng F Wu . Accounting of greenhouse gas emissions in Chinese agricultural system from 1980 to 2020. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2022, 42(23): 9470−9482 (in Chinese) |  
															| 26 | Y, Tian J B Zhang . Regional differentiation research on net carbon effect of agricultural production in China. Journal of Natural Resources, 2013, 28(8): 1298−1309 (in Chinese) |  
								            
												
											    	
											        	|  | Viewed |  
											        	|  |  |  
												        |  | Full text 
 | 
 
 |  
												        |  |  |  
												        |  | Abstract 
 | 
 |  
												        |  |  |  
												        |  | Cited |  |  
												        |  |  |  |  
													    |  | Shared |  |  
													    |  |  |  |  
													    |  | Discussed |  |  |  |  |