Spatial and temporal characteristics of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sources in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

This paper applied the inventory method to estimate the non-carbon dioxide (non-CO2) greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from agricultural sources from 1980 to 2016 in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and developed three emission scenarios (high, medium and low) at provincial level for 2030 and 2050 based on assumptions of economic development and the decoupling between agriculture and environment. Results show that the non-CO2GHGs emissions from agricultural sources in Yangtze River Economic Belt increased from 0.26 Gt CO2-eq in 1980 to 0.32 Gt CO2-eq in 2016. The trend will continue under the high scenario and medium scenario, as agricultural non-CO2GHGs emissions will not peak by 2050. The area-specific emission intensity (agricultural GHG emission per agricultural land area) in Jiangsu, Hunan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Hubei and Anhui will increase under the medium scenario and medium scenarios, while that in Sichuan province remains a lower level under the three scenarios. © 2020, Editorial Board of China Environmental Science. All right reserved.