Agriculture — Burning - Crop residues Emissions
| Object type | Damage Signal |
|---|---|
| SIGNAL Earth ID | DS-00856 |
| Observable type | — |
| Unit | — |
| Temporal structure | — |
| Monitoring backbone | — |
Agriculture — Burning - Crop residues Emissions Agricultural burning of crop residues is a common practice used to clear fields after harvest, facilitating land preparation for subsequent planting cycles. This process releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere, contributing to the overall greenhouse gas emissions associated with land use. Understanding emissions from crop residue burning is important for assessing agricultural impacts on air quality and climate change.
Crop residue burning emissions represent a significant component of anthropogenic CO2 emissions from land use activities globally. These emissions vary regionally and seasonally, influenced by agricultural practices, crop types, and regulatory policies. Monitoring and quantifying these emissions support efforts to characterize the carbon budget and inform environmental assessments.
Within the broader context of environmental monitoring, crop residue burning emissions are part of the complex interactions between land management, atmospheric chemistry, and climate systems. Their study contributes to integrated assessments of agricultural sustainability and environmental health.
Geographic / System Context
[edit]Crop residue burning occurs worldwide, predominantly in regions with intensive agricultural production such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, and the Americas. The practice is often concentrated in cropland areas where mechanized harvesting leaves substantial biomass residues. Geographic variability in crop types, climate conditions, and land management influences the frequency and intensity of burning events. These emissions are not confined to a specific geographic scope but are distributed according to agricultural land use patterns at regional to global scales.
Monitoring and Measurement
[edit]Monitoring of crop residue burning emissions involves satellite remote sensing to detect burned areas and estimate fire intensity and extent. The Global Cropland Burned Area (GloCAB) dataset provides spatially explicit information on cropland burning from 2002 to 2020, derived from satellite observations. Ground-based measurements and emission factor studies complement remote sensing by characterizing the chemical composition and quantity of emissions per unit biomass burned. Atmospheric inversion models and emission inventories integrate these data to estimate CO2 and other pollutant fluxes from agricultural burning.
Within the SIGNAL system, this phenomenon is treated as a defined environmental signal whose boundaries and measurement conventions are described below.
Signal Definition
[edit]The Agriculture — Burning - Crop residues Emissions signal quantifies the mass flux of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of burning agricultural crop residues. This includes emissions generated from the combustion of leftover biomass after harvest, excluding other sources of biomass burning such as wildfires or deforestation. The signal captures temporal variations in burning activity and spatial distribution across agricultural lands globally.
Boundary Conditions
[edit]Boundary inclusions encompass all CO2 emissions originating from the intentional burning of crop residues on agricultural lands, regardless of crop type or geographic location. Boundary exclusions include emissions from non-agricultural biomass burning such as wildfires, forest clearing, and urban biomass combustion. Additionally, emissions from decomposition or mechanical removal of crop residues without burning are excluded. The signal focuses solely on CO2 emissions, excluding other greenhouse gases or pollutants unless otherwise specified.
Aggregation Semantics
[edit]Geographically, the signal aggregates emissions data across cropland areas globally without restriction to specific political or ecological boundaries, reflecting the dispersed nature of agricultural burning. Temporally, aggregation can be performed at daily, seasonal, or annual scales to capture variability in burning practices and emission fluxes. Cross-signal aggregation involves integrating this signal with related emissions data such as anthropogenic particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides to provide a comprehensive profile of agricultural air pollutant emissions. Aggregation respects the spatial and temporal resolution of underlying datasets to maintain accuracy.
Observational Status
[edit]Current monitoring relies primarily on satellite-derived burned area datasets such as GloCAB, supplemented by emission factor studies and atmospheric modeling. These data provide a consistent long-term record of crop residue burning emissions from 2002 onwards. Future SIGNAL releases may incorporate improved temporal resolution, expanded chemical species coverage, and integration with ground-based observations to enhance accuracy and comprehensiveness. Continuous updates to emission factors and remote sensing algorithms are expected to refine emission estimates over time.
Related Signals
[edit]- Anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions
- Anthropogenic VOC emissions to air
- Anthropogenic sulfur oxide emissions to air
- CO2 emissions mass flux (generic)
- Nitrogen oxides emissions (anthropogenic)
Key Associated People
[edit]- Hong Xinhua — University of Science and Technology of China [Source author; High]
- John V. Hall — - [Source author; High]
Inclusion reflects material contribution to the scientific understanding of this damage signal; it does not imply review, endorsement, or affiliation with SIGNAL Earth.
Sources
[edit]- GloCAB: global cropland burned area from mid-2002 to 2020 — 2024. [Dataset; Anchor; High]
- A high-resolution emission inventory of air pollutants from primary crop residue burning over Northern India based on VIIRS thermal anomalies — Environmental Pollution, 2020. [Paper; Supporting; High]
- Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural residue burning have increased by 75% since 2011 across India — Science of The Total Environment, 2023. [Paper; Supporting; High]
- PM2.5 emissions and source profiles from open burning of crop residues — Atmospheric Environment, 2017. [Paper; Supporting; High]
- Quantification and evaluation of atmospheric emissions from crop residue burning constrained by satellite observations in China during 2016–2020 — Science of The Total Environment, 2023. [Paper; Supporting; High]