Ethanol Production: Energy and Economic Issues Related to U.S. and Brazilian Sugarcane

For a thorough and up-to-date evaluation of all the fossil energy costs of ethanol production from sugarcane in both the U.S. and Brazil, every energy input in the biomass production and ultimate conversion process must be included. In this study, more than 12 energy inputs in average U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production are evaluated. Then in the fermentation/distillation operation, nine more fossil fuel inputs are identified and included. Some energy and economic credits are given for the bagasse to reduce the energy inputs required for steam and electricity. Based on all the fossil energy inputs in U.S. sugarcane conversion process, a total of 1.12 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. In Brazil a total of 1.38 kcal of ethanol is produced per 1 kcal of fossil energy expended. Some pro-ethanol investigators have overlooked various energy inputs in U.S. and Brazilian sugarcane production, including farm labor, farm machinery, processing machinery, and others. In other studies, unrealistic low energy costs were attributed to such energy inputs, as nitrogen fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides. Both the U.S. and Brazil heavily subsidize ethanol production. Thus billions of dollars are invested in subsidies and this significantly increases the costs to the consumers. The environmental costs associated with producing ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil are significant but have been generally overlooked. The negative environmental impacts on the availability of cropland and freshwater, as well as on air pollution and public health, have yet to be carefully assessed. These environmental costs in terms of energy and economics should be calculated and included in future ethanol analyses so that sound assessments can be made. In addition, the production of ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil further confirms that the mission of converting biomass into ethanol will not replace oil. This mission is impossible. General concern has been expressed about taking food crops to produce ethanol for burning in automobiles instead of using these crops as food for the many malnourished people in the world. The World Health Organization reports that more than 3.7 billion humans are currently malnourished in the world—the largest number of malnourished ever in history.     

Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts Are Negative

Several studies suggest that the $1.4 billion in government subsidies are encouraging the ethanol program without substantial benefits to the U.S. economy. Large ethanol industries and a few U.S. government agencies, such as the USDA, support the production of ethanol. Corn-farmers receive minimal profits. In the U.S. ethanol system, considerably more energy, including high-grade fossil fuel, is required to produce ethanol than is available in the energy-ethanol output. Specifically about 29% more energy is used to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy in a gallon of ethanol. Fossil energy powers corn production and the fermentation/distillation processes. Increasing subsidized ethanol production will take more feed from livestock production, and is estimated to currently cost consumers an additional $1 billion per year. Ethanol production increases environmental degradation. Corn production causes more total soil erosion than any other crop. Also, corn production uses more insecticides, herbicides, and nitrogen fertilizers than any other crop. All these factors degrade the agricultural and natural environment and contribute to water pollution and air pollution. Increasing the cost of food and diverting human food resources to the costly inefficient production of ethanol fuel raise major ethical questions. These occur at a time when more than half of the world's population is malnourished. The ethical priority for corn and other food crops should be for food and feed. Subsidized ethanol produced from U.S. corn is not a renewable energy source.     

不同生计类型农户的土地利用——三峡库区典型村的实证研究

采用分层随机抽样、参与式农村评估、地块调查等方法,研究了重庆市涪陵区珍溪镇3 个典型村样本农户的土地利用和土地投入的差异。共调查了227 户,2250 个地块。结果发现：① 除了6.17%的非农户土地撂荒、退耕或出租外,纯农户、一兼户、二兼户的土地利用类型均以集约为主。纯农户因年龄结构老龄化,劳动力供应不足,相对粗放的耕地面积为48.95%。一兼户相对集约利用的面积比例为71.08%。二兼户相对集约利用的面积比例为67.20%。② 土地投入有明显差异。纯农户每公顷农业劳动力投入少,劳动力老龄化;由于缺乏资金,农业机械及省工性投入少,多选择农家肥及磷肥、碳铵等价格较低的传统肥料。一兼户劳动力投入的数量与质量都最高,有长期投资农业的意愿与动力,农业机械投资量最大,保持了较高的农家肥施用量,且各种化肥配合施用,用量适中;二兼户每公顷农业劳动力投入大,以老人与妇女为主;由于收入高,农业机械及省工性投入比纯农户多,首选价格高、省劳力的化肥。非农户无土地投入。`     

干旱区典型绿洲农业生态经济系统的结构和功能分析--以塔里木河中下游的尉犁县为例

在分析农业生态系统的资源结构、农业种群结构、产业结构和空间结构的基础上．对新疆塔里木河中下游干旱区典型绿洲农业生态经济系统进行了能流、物流和价值流的分析。结果显示．在能流方面．尉犁县农田生态系统的能量产出水平和效率都处于较低水平，而较低的人工辅助能投入和有机能投入则是影响系统能量转化效率和产出率的主要原因。在物流方面。农田肥料投入结构单一。主要以化肥为主，而且，化肥使用量已超过了最适施肥量范围，造成土壤养分严重失衡。在价值流方面．农业生态经济系统价值流产投比不高。还处于单纯的农作物生产阶段。指出造成尉犁农业生态经济系统功能低下的主要原因是由于产业结构不合理．生产力水平低下。资金缺乏等因素。种植业比重过大。结构单一，风险大．增殖效果不明显。而生产成本相对较低，增殖效果好的畜牧业仅占8．31％。因而调整和优化产业结构，提高系统的经济效箍势在必行。     

Material use,economic growth,and the environment

The three broad categories of commodity inputs to the economy are food, fuel, and material, defined as everything else not used for the first two purposes. Material provides physical structure, houses, cars, and packaging; is an important constitutent of modern agriculture in the form of fertilizer and insecticides; and supports the service sector through telecommunications and equipment and paper for our copying machines. The efficient flow of this material is an important factor in the U.S. economy.Correspondence should be directed to Earle B. Amey, U.S. Geological Survey, National Center 983, Reston, Virgina 20192.     

现代种植业系统及粮食生产能量转化效率的 动态分析——-以山前平原河北栾城县为例

本文在分析栾城县现代种植业结构演替基础上,对当地1984- 2006 年种植业系统能流动态分析表明：以秸 秆直接还田为主的有机能投入从90 年代中期占绝对优势,能流循环指数从1984 年0.5 持续提高到2000 年0.62, 无机能后期快速增长使有机能和无机能不断扩大的趋势有所趋缓。而粮食生产的能流动态分析除表明上述趋势外 认为总体能效从1993 年1.78 下降到目前1.67 并不显著,同时无机能增加主要是农机、灌溉等耗能引起,有机能促 进系统内生循环的同时与能源动力、化肥等无机能投入不断协调形成稳定高产的组合体系。未来优化当地农业生 产结构,节能减耗,提高资源利用率需要加强秸秆间接还田的农牧结合制度,节水灌溉制度及与之配套的作物配置 结构。     

化肥在农业生产中的地位与作用

化肥是提高作物产量的物质基础, 在过去的几十年中, 它在世界农业建设中起过巨大作用。近百年的肥料试验表明, 化学肥料具有和有机质一样的持续增产效果, 在提高作物产量、品质的同时, 还可培肥土壤。随着化肥工业的发展, 化肥的负作用会逐渐减小。     

1998-2008年中国农作物化肥消费的时空分异(英文)

The agricultural and land policies in China are always focused on protecting its food supply and security because of the country’s large population and improved diets.The crop production guide ’Take Grain as the Key Link’ prompted peasants to plant grain on most of the agricultural land,leading to the majority of fertilizer being used in grain crops for many years in China.This situation has changed dramatically in recent years.Based on data pertaining to provincial crops sown area and fertilizer use per unit area in 1998 and 2008,the temporal and spatial variations of China’s fertilizer consumption by crops were analyzed at the provincial level,and the results are presented here.(1) Fertilizer consumption in China grew strongly in the last decade,while the growth was mainly attributable to the increase of fertilizer con-sumption by horticultural crops.The fertilizer consumption of grain crops dropped from 71.0% in 1998 to 57.8% in 2008.Thus,it is concluded that the emphasis of fertilizer consumption is shifting toward horticultural crops.(2) There were marked differences in the growth rates of fertilizer consumption from the regional point of view.The national average growth rate of fertilizer consumption was 31.9% during 1998-2008.The western and northeastern parts of the country came close to the national average,while the eastern part was lower,with an average of 13.0%,and central China was much higher(50.8%).The increase of fertilizer consumption in central and west China was higher than the other zones,which already ac-counted for 77.9% of the national total.Thus,it is concluded that the consumption emphasis of chemical fertilizer shifts toward the central and western regions.(3) The decline of fertilizer consumption by grain crops was largely due to the decrease in sown area compared with the increase by vegetable crops attributable to the enlarging sown area;the increase by orchard crops was affected by both expanding the sown area and fertilizer use per unit area.     

中国化肥投入管制的时空演化及影响因素分析

运用脱钩弹性方程,分析了1980~2015年中国各地区（除港澳台地区外）的化肥投入与农业增长耦合关系和化肥投入变动的管制效果;通过LMDI模型,将化肥投入变动影响因素分解为产值规模效应、化肥效益效应和科技效应。研究表明：随着农业经济的迅速发展,中国的化肥投入可以分为“增量管制”和“减量管制”2个阶段,减量管制阶段的化肥投入增速明显低于增量管制阶段,其中东部地区的化肥投入率先减量;脱钩弹性系数在增量管制阶段末期达到最高值后,呈现出逐渐降低的趋势,各地区的管制效果与化肥投入管制方向基本相同;科技效应驱动了各地区化肥投入的减少,化肥效益效应是化肥投入增加的推动力,各效应在增量管制和减量管制阶段的驱动方向保持一致,其中东部地区的化肥效益效应贡献率较大,同时科技效应贡献率的绝对值也相对高,西部地区农业增产模式较为粗放。随着化肥投入减量管制的深入,要在重视空间差异的基础上,不断提高化肥增产效率、增强现代农业的外部替代作用。     

新疆农田投入化肥时空变化及趋势分析

通过研究相关统计资料对新疆农田化肥投入在时间和空间上的变化进行了分析。结果表明：1980年以来新疆农田投入化肥分为稳步上升、快速增长和徘徊波动三个阶段。新疆农田投入化肥在空间上的变化为：地区间分布不平衡,南疆与北疆、棉区与粮区、兵团与地方之间差异明显。在此基础上对未来新疆化肥资源的施用趋势进行了讨论。     

基于面源污染约束的玉米生产效率及其时空差异

采用基于非期望产出的非径向、非角度的数据包络分析模型测算了2006~2016年中国20个省份玉米生产效率并分析了其时空变化特征和影响因素。结果表明,东北区、黄淮海区和蒙新区玉米生产效率较高,但山东和辽宁效率值低于0.90,区内省际间差异较小;长江中下游区、西南区和西北区效率较低,但安徽、重庆、山西和甘肃效率值高于0.90,区内省际间差异较大。玉米生产效率总体上呈降低趋势,两极分化呈先缩小后扩大趋势,低效率地区数量显著增加。近3 a四川和贵州用工投入可缩减比例超过15%,辽宁化肥投入可缩减比例超过10%,吉林和黑龙江资本投入可缩减比例超过5%。总氮和总磷排放强度过高是各省份玉米生产效率降低的普遍原因,湖北、广西、贵州、云南和四川总氮可缩减比例达60%以上,宁夏、陕西和湖北总磷可缩减比例达50%以上。应通过水肥管理减少农田尺度肥料损失,通过布局调整和结构优化控制区域尺度肥料流失。东北区和黄淮海区应重点控制灌溉引起的磷肥排水损失和氮肥淋溶损失,西南区和长江中下游区重点控制暴雨径流引起的氮磷流失,西北区和蒙新区重点通过节水灌溉减少肥料流失。     

农地边际化过程中农户土地利用行为变化及其对粮食生产的影响

认识农地边际化过程中农户土地利用行为的变化及其对粮食生产的影响,对正确判断中国的粮食生产形势,制订相关政策以确保粮食安全具有重要意义。基于湖北省咸宁市4县1市1区的23个村组、1252个农户家庭的调查数据,对1981年以来农户土地利用行为变化的特征及其对粮食生产的影响进行分析。结果表明：① 农户用于粮食生产的劳动力与土地面积明显下降,农户用地方式出现“省工性”变化,劳动力被农机要素替代,农业机械、化学肥料与农药等物质投入显著上升。② 主要粮食作物的劳动生产率、土地生产率与商品率分别提高了4.61%、29.69%与50.56%,但区域主要粮食作物的总产量与农户家庭平均粮食占有量却分别下降了10.49%与10.50%,区域粮食安全的保障能力出现弱化。③ 丘陵山区主要粮食作物的“三率”提高幅度高于平原地区,丘陵山区的水稻总产量与家庭占有量均略有提高,但平原地区却出现了明显下降。产粮重心在空间上出现从平原地区向丘陵山区倾斜的现象。④ 稳定主要粮食作物的用地规模,促进农户规模经营,提高土地产出效率,是应对农地边际化作用的关键。从事规模化与专业化粮食生产的农区与农户,应成为国家惠农政策与粮食安全政策重点扶持的对象。     

基于地理探测器的黑龙江垦区农场粮食产量影响因素分析

中国粮食生产格局已由南粮北运转变为北粮南运,东北黑龙江垦区已成为最重要的商品粮基地,稳定该区域的粮食产量、可持续发展该区域粮食种植,对促进农业可持续发展、保证国家粮食安全具有重大的意义。为有针对性地制定农业政策,需研究黑龙江垦区粮食产量影响因素,以黑龙江垦区内113个农场为研究对象,选取23个与农业生产关系最密切的影响因子,利用地理探测器方法分析不同因子对农场粮食产量影响的差异。结果显示：除了播种面积和耕地面积外,农业机械化水平是最显著的影响因子,进一步分析表明大型农机对农场粮食产量影响较大。应进一步加强农业科技、农业机械化投入,鼓励精准农业种植模式发展,以保证黑龙江垦区的粮食可持续生产。     

Efficient use of resources: urban waste ash and soil fertility on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria

Waste disposal constitutes an acute problem in numerous African cities. One solution could lie in the recycling of the nutrient-rich waste into agriculture taking place in and around cities. Farmers involved in vegetable production around Jos, Nigeria, have developed a sophisticated soil fertility management strategy combining inorganic fertilizers, manure and urban waste ash. This paper: (1) investigates the socio-economic constraints linked to obtaining scarce organic inputs, particularly urban waste ash and the health hazards (particularly heavy metal contamination of soil and crops) caused by using this ash and (2) suggests ways to improve use of this important resource.     

Multi-criteria, multi-objective and uncertainty analysis for agro-energy spatial modelling

The worldwide increase in the use of biomass as a Renewable Energy Source raises the issue of introducing crops dedicated to energy production into rural landscapes. The purpose of this paper is to set-up a GIS based multi-criteria approach to assess a range of possibilities for perennial energy crops conversion. The presented method was implemented at the regional level in the Yorkshire and the Humber Region in Northern UK. The first phase of the study aims to set-up a land capability model for the specific purpose of assessing the potential of different typologies of perennial energy crops, on the basis of specific pedo-climatic and topographic factors. The model output illustrates a range of potentials for energy crop conversion that can be explored in the given landscape. In the second phase a uncertainty analysis of the land capability model was performed through a simulation approach in order to interpret the influence of assumptions and uncertainty on input data and model parameters. The last phase of the study allows allocating the energy crop conversion area according to specific environmental constraints, nature protection targets, food production priorities and land capability values. The land allocation output gives a rather restrictive energy crop penetration scenario, where more than half of the conversion area is allocated to cropping systems with low land degradation potential. This scenario represents a preliminary regional analysis of the energy crop potential in terms of theoretically available conversion areas. The final results also show that the areas with highest environmental risks correspond to the areas with both the lowest suitability for energy crop cultivation and the highest model uncertainty.     

中国粮食生产潜力和化肥增产效率 的区域分异

根据我国各地区1990－1998年化肥施用量和作物产量，以粮食作物为主要研究对象，从不同年份单位播种面积的粮食产量和肥料施用量变化，求出相应的单位播种面积可能达到的粮食生产潜力，并以此为基础计算出该地区单位播种面积的粮食的增产潜力。研究表明：我国粮食单产大多在3500－5250kg/hm^2范围，粮食单产增产潜力一般在300－600kg/hm^2左右，增施化肥的增产效果一般在5－10kg/kg（粮食／化肥）范围，但是各地区的差异较大，对不同地区的比较研究表明：我国粮食单产（5372kg/hm^2)和生产潜力（7462kg/hm^2)均东部地区（高施肥水平）最高，中部地区（中等施肥水平）的粮食单产和生产潜力居中，分别为4940kg/hm^2和7216kg/hm^2，西部地区（低施肥水平）的粮食单产和生产潜力最低，分别为3844kg/hm^2和5470kg/hm^2，按播种面积计算，粮食单产的增产潜力以西部地区最高，平均达948kg/hm^2，东部地区局中，平均为754kg/hm^2，中部地区则相应较低，为714kg/hm^2，化肥增产效率（增施单位化肥的粮食增产量）以西部地区最高，达9．41kg/kg(粮食／化肥），中部地区居中，为7．17kg/kg(粮食／化肥）；而东部地区最低，为－11．1kg/kg(粮食／化肥），从全国来看，东部地区虽然粮食生产潜力大，但是增产潜力很小，由于施肥量较大，增施化肥的增产效果不明显，因此，今后我国的化肥应该重点考虑投向中部和西部地区。     

Water Footprints of Cassava- and Molasses-Based Ethanol Production in Thailand

The Thai government has been promoting renewable energy as well as stimulating the consumption of its products. Replacing transport fuels with bioethanol will require substantial amounts of water and enhance water competition locally. This study shows that the water footprint (WF) of molasses-based ethanol is less than that of cassava-based ethanol. The WF of molasses-based ethanol is estimated to be in the range of 1,510–1,990 L water/L ethanol, while that of cassava-based ethanol is estimated at 2,300–2,820 L water/L ethanol. Approximately 99% of the water in each of these WFs is used to cultivate crops. Ethanol production requires not only substantial amounts of water but also government interventions because it is not cost competitive. In Thailand, the government has exploited several strategies to lower ethanol prices such as oil tax exemptions for consumers, cost compensation for ethanol producers, and crop price assurances for farmers. For the renewable energy policy to succeed in the long run, the government may want to consider promoting molasses-based ethanol production as well as irrigation system improvements and sugarcane yield-enhancing practices, since molasses-based ethanol is more favorable than cassava-based ethanol in terms of its water consumption, chemical fertilizer use, and production costs.     

环渤海地区农田氮素养分收支空间差异研究(英文)

The Bohai Rim region is one the most important bases for commodity grain pro-duction in China.With the rapid pace of agricultural industrialization,nitrogenous fertilizer has been used at an ever increasing rate,which resulted in the trace of accumulative nitrogen in the soil and caused serious environmental problems.In this study we made use of the farm-land nitrogen balance model to assess the spatial difference of farmland nitrogen nutrient budget in the Bohai Rim region in 2008 with the assistance of GIS.Our results indicated that:1) Farmland in this region has a nitrogen surplus totaling 5.0822 million tons,or an average of 288.54 kg/ha.2) In the Bohai Rim region,farmland nitrogen input and farmland nitrogen budget both show a spatial differentiation.Major grain-producing areas have a higher nitrogen input than that of the grazing-farming areas.The main sources of nitrogen input include chemical fertilizer,organic fertilizer,deposition from atmospheric drying and wetting,and biological fixation,which account for 79.47%,9.53%,4.62%,and 3.58% of the total input,respectively.Therefore,chemical fertilizer is the predominant source of nitrogen input to farmland.3) A total of 3.3398 million tons of nitrogen were output from the farmland via har-vested crops and it accounts for 52.36% of the total nitrogen output from farmland in this region.On average,the amount of nitrogen output from unit farmland is equal to 176.65kg/ha.This study has shed light on farmland nitrogen budget and its spatial variation in the study area,may provide scientific evidences for rationalizing the use of chemical fertilizer and managing agricultural operation on the regional scale and is also valuable for improving the economic and ecological efficiency of fertilizer use at the regional scale.     

Temporal Variations and Driving Factors of Cultivated Land Use Intensity in Shandong Province from 1980 to 2015

Based on the cost-income data of agricultural products and relevant statistical data, taking major grain crops and economic crops in the process of cultivated land use as study cases, we studied characteristics of the temporal variation of cultivated land use intensity and its composition in Shandong Province from 1980 to 2015, and then analyzed its main driving factors. The results showed that: (1) The total intensity of major crops in Shandong Province showed a rising trend from 919.73 Yuan ha^-1 in 1980 to 3285.06 Yuan ha^-1 in 2015, and the average annual intensity of economic crops was higher than that of grain crops. The labor cost and material cost of major crops both showed an increasing trend, but the material input was much higher than labor input for grain crops, while the labor input was much higher than material input for economic crops. (2) The labor intensity of major crops in Shandong Province showed a decreasing trend from 501.75 man-day ha^-1 in 1980 to 161.93 man-day ha^-1 in 2015. The labor intensity of grain crops was lower than that of economic crops and its decline rate was fast. On the contrary, the capital intensity showed an increasing trend from 518.33 Yuan ha^-1 in 1980 to 1159.95 Yuan ha^-1 in 2015. In the internal composition of capital intensity, the proportion of yield-increasing inputs such as seed, farmyard manure, fertilizer, pesticide and drainage and irrigation decreased gradually, while the proportion of labor-saving inputs such as agricultural machinery increased significantly. (3) The cultivated land use intensity in Shandong Province had significant negative correlations with the amount of agricultural labor and cultivated land area per capita. The primary direct driving factor was the net income per unit cost of major crops, but the time response lagged by 1-3 years. The main indirect driving factor was the reform of agricultural policy.     

Applications of multivariate statistical analysis in remote sensing of agriculture

Rasmussen, Kjeld & Olesen, Henrik Hagen: Applications of multivariate statistical analysis in remote sensing of agriculture. Geografisk Tidsskrift 88:100–107. Copenhagen 1988.

Applications of satellite remote sensing to agriculture involve two main objectives, the identification and mapping of crops, including estimation of acreages, and monitoring of plant growth or production factors, aiming at estimation/prediction of yields.

Deterministic models of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and plant canopies are used to relate the measured reflected or emitted radiation to crop type and agronomically relevant parameters. The great natural variation of reflectance properties of crops does, however, call for use of a statistical approach. The high dimensionality of the data-sets involved, very often more than ten, requires the use of multivariate techniques.

This paper will deal with the use of multivariate statistical techniques for both crop identification and crop monitoring based on high-resolution satellite remote sensing data, such as those produced by Landsat MSS and -TM and SPOT. Emphasis will be placed upon use of statistical methods in classification and on removal of redundancy in multi-dimensional data-sets. The relative merits of deterministic and statistical methods will be discussed as will the possibilities of incorporating spatial information into statistical methods.