Quantification and evaluation of atmospheric emissions from crop residue burning constrained by satellite observations in China during 2016-2020

Xinhua Hong; Chengxin Zhang; Yuan Tian; Hongyu Wu; Yizhi Zhu; Cheng Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161237

Quantification and evaluation of atmospheric emissions from crop residue burning constrained by satellite observations in China during 2016-2020

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Mar 20:865:161237. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161237. Epub 2022 Dec 28.

Authors

Xinhua Hong¹, Chengxin Zhang², Yuan Tian³, Hongyu Wu¹, Yizhi Zhu⁴, Cheng Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
² Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China. Electronic address: zcx2011@ustc.edu.cn.
³ Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China.
⁴ Key Lab of Environmental Optics & Technology, Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
⁵ Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Key Lab of Environmental Optics & Technology, Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China. Electronic address: chliu81@ustc.edu.cn.

PMID: 36586694
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161237

Abstract

In rural regions of China, crop residue burning (CRB) is the major biomass burning activity, which can result in massive emissions of atmospheric particulate, greenhouse gas, and trace gas pollutants. Based on Himawari-8 satellite fire radiative power and agricultural statistics data, we implemented a daily inventory of agricultural fire emissions in 2016-2020 with a 2-km spatial resolution, including atmospheric pollutants such as CO₂, CH₄, CO, N₂O, NO_X, NH₃, SO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Hg, OC, EC, and NMVOCs. Our inventory constrained by geostationary satellite monitoring is more consistent with the actual CRB emissions in China, as many flaring events occur surreptitiously in the early morning and late evening to avoid regulation, which may be overlooked by polar-orbiting satellites. The spatiotemporal characterizations of various CRB emissions are found to be consistent with multiple satellite trace gas retrievals. We also assessed the effectiveness of field burning bans in China. Combined with other relevant datasets, it was found that although China has been advocating for a long time not to burn straw in the open field, CRB emissions was not successfully controlled nationwide until 2016. We estimated that the cumulative reduction of CO₂ CRB emissions alone amounts to 809 ± 651 (2σ) teragram (Tg) during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), with an average value equivalent to 1.2 times the total annual territorial CO₂ emissions by fossil fuels from Germany in 2021 (675 Tg, ranked 1st in EU27 and 7th in the world). Our inventory also suggests that continuous, long-term controls are necessary. Otherwise, CRB emissions may only be delayed on a seasonal scale, rather than reduced.

Keywords: Air pollutant; Crop residue burning; Emission inventory; Satellite remote sensing; Straw burning ban.