Laboratory studies of some environmental variables controlling sulfur emissions from plants

Several trace sulfur gases that can have a significant influence on atmospheric chemistry are emitted from biological systems. In order to begin to address biological questions on the mechnisms of production of such gases, laboratory-scale experiments have been developed that reproduce such emissions under controlled conditions. Using a flux chamber technique, flats containing soil, or soil plus plants were sampled for the net fluxes of sulfur gases. The major sulfur gas emitted from all the plants tested (corn, alfalfa, and wheat) was dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Alfalfa and wheat also emitted lesser amounts of methanethiol, variable amounls of hydrogen sulfide, and in some experiments wheat emitted carbon disulfide. The use of a plant incubator allowed a systematic study of the effects of variables such as temperature, photon flux, and carbon dioxide levels, on these emissions. Fluxes of all the emitted sulfur gases increased exponentially with increasing air temperature, and increased with increasing photon flux up to a saturation level of \~300 E/m^–2 sec^-1. Three to four-fold changes in DMS flux were observed during light to dark or dark to light transitions. By varying the CO₂ content of the chamber flush gas, it was shown that the observed sulfur fluxes from corn and alfalfa were not related to the CO₂ concentration. Growing these crop plants through holes in a Teflon soil-covering film allowed a separate determination of soil and foliage emissions and substantiation of the light dependent uptake of COS by growing vegetation observed in previous field studies.     

OCS,H2S,and CS2 fluxes from a salt water marsh

The diurnal-to-monthly behavior of the fluxes of OCS, H₂S, and CS₂ from a mixed-Spartina grass-covered site in a Wallops Island salt water marsh was determined through a series of experiments in August and September, 1982. Absolute flux values were determined for OCS and H₂S, while only relative values were determined for CS₂. The rates of emission of OCS and H₂S were observed to vary diurnally and to be strongly influenced by tides. The time-averaged flux values show that such mixed-Spartina stands are insignificant ( 1%) global sources of H₂S or CS₂ and insignificant contributors to the global OCS cycle (< 1%). These results demonstrate that some marsh regions play a minor role in the global sulfur budget and, consequently, that the inclusion of such areas in extrapolations of measurements of more productive regions could lead to an overestimate of the role of salt water marshes in the global sulfur budget.     

天山北坡典型草地净初级生产力对氮沉降及气候变化的响应阈值研究

生态阈值现象普遍存在于自然系统中.气候变化幅度过大,超出了生态系统本身的调节和修复能力,生态系统的结构功能就会遭到破坏.新疆干旱区气候波动明显,该区草地生态系统对大气氮沉降和气候变化的响应是否存在阈值,有待深入研究.本文以天山北坡沿海拔梯度分布的四种草地类型（高山草甸（AM）、中山森林草地（MMFM）、低山干草原（LMDG）和平原荒漠草原（PDG））为研究对象,基于DNDC模型,揭示氮沉降及气候变化对天山北坡草地生态系统净初级生产力的影响.研究结果表明：1）草地净初级生产力 （NPP）对氮沉降增加的响应存在阈值,PDG、LMDG、MMFM和AM的响应阈值分别为20±5.77、60±26.46、50±15.28和30±11.55 kg·hm^-2.2）四种草地类型的NPP从大到小依次为MMFM、LMDG、PDG和AM,水热条件是决定NPP的主要因素.3）PDG草地NPP对温度升高的响应存在阈值,而对于其他类型的草地,在目前的研究中尚未得出确切结论.4）PDG和LMDG草地NPP与降水有明显的正相关关系,而AM草地NPP的变化与降水变化呈负相关.不同草地类型对降水变化的敏感程度也有较大差异,PDG最大,其次是LMDG,之后是AM和MMFM.     

1981—2019年全球陆地生态系统碳通量变化特征及其驱动因子

陆地生态系统碳汇显著降低大气CO₂浓度上升和全球变暖的速率,受人类活动和气候变化的影响,陆地生态系统碳通量具有强烈的时空变化,其估算结果仍存在较大的不确定性,不同因子的贡献尚不清晰。为此,利用遥感驱动的陆地生态系统过程模型BEPS模拟分析了1981—2019年全球陆地生态系统碳通量的时空变化特征,评价了大气CO₂浓度、叶面积指数(Leaf Area Index, LAI)、氮沉降、气候变化对全球陆地生态系统碳收支变化的贡献。1981—2019年全球陆地生态系统总初级生产力(Gross Primary Productivity, GPP)、净初级生产力(Net Primary Productivity, NPP)和净生态系统生产力(Net Ecosystem Productivity, NEP)的平均值分别为115.3、51.3和2.7 Pg·a^-1(以碳质量计,下同),上升速率分别为0.47、0.21和0.06 Pg·a^-1。全球大部分区域GPP和NPP显著增加,NEP显著上升(p<0.05)...     

Summary of Recent Climate Change Studies on the Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles in the Terrestrial Ecosystem and Ocean in China

This article reviews recent advances over the past 4 years in the study of the carbon-nitrogen cycling and their relationship to climate change in China. The net carbon sink in the Chinese terrestrial ecosystem was 0.19-0.26 Pg C yr-1 for the 1980s and 1990s. Both natural wetlands and the rice-paddy regions emitted 1.76 Tg and 6.62 Tg of CH 4 per year for the periods 1995-2004 and 2005-2009, respectively. China emitted～1.1 Tg N 2 O-N yr-1 to the atmosphere in 2004. Land soil contained～8.3 Pg N. The excess nitrogen stored in farmland of the Yangtze River basin reached 1.51 Tg N and 2.67 Tg N in 1980 and 1990, respectively. The outer Yangtze Estuary served as a moderate or significant sink of atmospheric CO 2 except in autumn. Phytoplankton could take up carbon at a rate of 6.4 ×10 11 kg yr-1 in the China Sea. The global ocean absorbed anthropogenic CO 2 at the rates of 1.64 and 1.73 Pg C yr-1 for two simulations in the 1990s. Land net ecosystem production in China would increase until the mid-21st century then would decrease gradually under future climate change scenarios. This research should be strengthened in the future, including collection of more observation data, measurement of the soil organic carbon (SOC) loss and sequestration, evaluation of changes in SOC in deep soil layers, and the impacts of grassland management, carbon-nitrogen coupled effects, and development and improvement of various component models and of the coupled carbon cycle-climate model.     

A comparison between natural and anthropogenic emissions of the reduced sulfur compounds H2S, COS, and CS2 in a tropical industrialized region

Extensive ambient concentration and flux measurements have been performed in the heavily polluted region of Cubatão/Brazil. Substantial contribution of anthropogenic sources to the local reduced sulfur burden has been observed. As a result of this atmospheric sulfur burden average gas exchange between vegetated soils and the atmosphere shows net deposition. Based mainly on own field measurements a local budget for H₂S, COS, and CS₂ has been made up in order to calculate anthropogenic emissions. All major sources and sinks in the chosen atmospheric reservoir (24×20×1 km) have been taken into account. Due to the small reservoir size fluxes across its boundaries are dominant sources and sinks. The differences between outflux and influx therefore account for the unknown anthropogenic emissions which have been determined to be 80±10 (H₂S), 66±15 (COS), and 29±6 Mmol year^-1 (CS₂). Other sources and sinks like natural emissions, chemical conversion, and dry deposition turned out to be of minor importance on a local scale. In fact, inside the investigated reservoir natural emissions were below 0.5% of anthropogenic emissions. Anthropogenic emissions of H₂S, COS, and CS₂ quantified in this work have been compared with global emission estimates for these compounds made by other authors. We conclude that global anthropogenic emissions of reduced sulfur compounds especially of COS and CS₂ are currently under-estimated.     

The impact of biofuel-induced food-price inflation on dietary energy demand and dietary greenhouse gas emissions

Dramatic increases in liquid biofuel production have led to concerns about associated impacts on food prices, with many modeling studies showing significant biofuel-related price inflation. In turn, by changing patterns of food demand, biofuel production may indirectly influence greenhouse gas emissions. We estimated changes to dietary energy (calorie) demand and greenhouse gas emissions embodied in average diets under different biofuel-related food-price scenarios for Brazil, China and the United States, using food-price projections and food-price elasticities. Average energy demand decreased in all countries, from about 40 kcal per person per day in Brazil under a moderate price inflation scenario – a reduction of 1% relative to the (2009) reference scenario – to nearly 300 per day in the United States with high price inflation – almost 8% of reference levels. However, emissions per calorie increased slightly in all three countries. In terms of total greenhouse gas emissions, the results are suggestive of overall reductions only in the United States, where average reductions ranged from about 40 to 110 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per person per year. In China, the direction of impact is unclear, but the net change is likely to be small. Brazilian results were sensitive to parameter values and the direction and magnitude of impact is therefore uncertain. Despite the uncertainty, even small changes (positive or negative) in individual dietary emissions can produce large changes at the population level, arguing for the inclusion of the dietary pathway in greenhouse gas accounting of liquid biofuels.     

西南地区酸雨时空分布特征研究

利用中国气象局酸雨观测网西南地区四川、重庆、贵州、昆明、西藏五省、市、自治区17个酸雨观测站1993—2004年的观测资料．研究了西南地区降水pH值、酸雨频率及降水电导率时空分布特征。分析结果表明,红原、拉萨、甘孜极少出现酸雨;重庆酸雨频率最高,遵义降水pH均值最小,降水酸性较强;酸雨年际变化有降低趋势;酸雨强度及频率存在明显的月际变化,变化接近U型分布,并且与降水量成正相关。西南地区的酸雨污染仍很严重。     

The significance of surface temperature patterns on the energy balance of a small lake in the Canadian Shield

Abstract

Temperature patterns of a small lake in the Canadian Shield are examined by means of thermal imagery. The effect of the different surface temperatures on the daytime energy balance is examined for two points over the lake at the time the thermal imagery was taken. For 14 June 1979, two distinct energy balance regimes are noted. At the lake centre, where the deeper water registers a relatively cool thermal signature, a boundary‐layer inversion is observed. The downward sensible heat flux augments the net radiation, and the latent heat flux is 105% of the radiant input. Along the lake margins, the shallows register warm thermal signatures and a lapse profile is observed. The sensible heat flux is an energy sink and the latent heat flux is diminished to 88% of the net radiation. This difference indicates that a single point estimate may introduce a bias if it is assumed to be representative of the lake average for the purposes of studying lake evaporation.

The calculation of the latent heat flux and evaporation is very sensitive to the value of the surface temperature. When the spatial patterns of surface temperature are considered in an estimate of the lake evaporation, the spatially integrated value differs by —6% from the estimate based upon a single point observation at the lake centre for a mid‐day in June and by +10% from the estimate based upon observations collected over the warm shallows.     

长江下游地区汛期暴雨气候特征分析

根据2008-2013年我国暴雨统计结果, 分析了6 a间我国暴雨分布情况、变化趋势和演变规律, 结果表明:我国年降水量分布总体趋势由西北向东南依次递增, 西南地区东部、江汉地区、江淮地区、江南地区及华南地区是每年暴雨的多发区域, 华南南部(尤其是海南)为显著的暴雨多发区, 年暴雨日数常常超过10 d。我国每年平均暴雨日数为217.5 d, 以6-8月为最多; 平均每年出现39次主要暴雨过程次数, 其中8次由热带气旋登陆引起, 约有58%的主要暴雨过程出现在6-8月, 以7月最多; 每年平均出现特大暴雨26站次, 以华南居多, 年最大日降水量介于336.1~614.7 mm之间, 主要出现在6-10月之间。每年遴选出的强度强、范围大、影响显著的10次重大暴雨事件均出现在5-11月, 其中以南方暴雨占多数。

     

Assessing the designs and effectiveness of Japan's emissions trading scheme

After years of discussions and trials, Japan's domestic emissions trading scheme remains purely voluntary. The newly elected Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has taken a firmer stance on climate change, initially intending to establish a nationwide mandatory cap-and-trade as early as 2011. This has promoted several questions regarding the possible designs and feasibility of such a scheme. This article describes the key features of the two trial schemes implemented, thus far, assesses the effectiveness of their implementation and discusses what will be the likely areas of contention should the Japanese government introduce a mandatory cap-and-trade in the future. The analyses indicate that the initial years of ‘Japan's Voluntary Emissions Trading Scheme’ (JVETS) implementation have shown positive performance, although its scale has remained limited. The ‘Trial Implementation of an Integrated Domestic Market for Emissions Trading’ emerged as a hybrid scheme, one that incorporated varying interests. Significant institutional developments have taken place in recent years, however the effectiveness of the present trial scheme also seems restricted.     

Ranking the risk of CO2 emissions from seagrass soil carbon stocks under global change threats

Seagrass meadows are natural carbon storage hotspots at risk from global change threats, and their loss can result in the remineralization of soil carbon stocks and CO₂ emissions fueling climate change. Here we used expert elicitation and empirical evidence to assess the risk of CO₂ emissions from seagrass soils caused by multiple human-induced, biological and climate change threats. Judgments from 41 experts were synthesized into a seagrass CO₂ emission risk score based on vulnerability factors (i.e., spatial scale, frequency, magnitude, resistance and recovery) to seagrass soil organic carbon stocks. Experts perceived that climate change threats (e.g., gradual ocean warming and increased storminess) have the highest risk for CO₂ emissions at global spatial scales, while direct threats (i.e., dredging and building of a marina or jetty) have the largest CO₂ emission risks at local spatial scales. A review of existing peer-reviewed literature showed a scarcity of studies assessing CO₂ emissions following seagrass disturbance, but the limited empirical evidence partly confirmed the opinion of experts. The literature review indicated that direct and long-term disturbances have the greatest negative impact on soil carbon stocks per unit area, highlighting that immediate management actions after disturbances to recover the seagrass canopy can significantly reduce soil CO₂ emissions. We conclude that further empirical evidence assessing global change threats on the seagrass carbon sink capacity is required to aid broader uptake of seagrass into blue carbon policy frameworks. The preliminary findings from this study can be used to estimate the potential risk of CO₂ emissions from seagrass habitats under threat and guide nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation.     

近43a来小兴安岭气候变化趋势特征及对林区生态环境的影响

通过对黑龙江省小兴安岭林区近43a来气候变化的趋势特征进行定量分析,结果表明:年平均气温、最低气温、最高气温、蒸发量呈增加趋势;年降水量、日照时数、辐射量、日平均风速呈减少趋势;日平均相对湿度的年变率呈小幅波动,变化不大。根据小兴安岭林区气候趋势变化特征、森林覆盖率、森林质量等因素,初步探讨了林区气候变化趋势特征与林区生态环境的相互影响。     

The impact of the Tokyo Metropolitan Emissions Trading Scheme on reducing greenhouse gas emissions: findings from a facility-based study

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the Tokyo Metropolitan Emissions Trading Scheme (Tokyo ETS), Japan’s first emissions trading scheme with mandatory cap initiated by the government of Tokyo. Unlike trading schemes in other countries, the Tokyo ETS covers indirect emissions from the commercial sector. It is well known that a variety of market barriers impede full realization of energy efficiency opportunities, especially in the commercial sector. Experiences with the Tokyo ETS should therefore provide important lessons for the design of climate change mitigation policies, especially when targeting the commercial sector. The emissions from covered entities have been drastically reduced from those at the scheme’s outset, with an average 14% reduction as of the end of the first commitment period of five years (2010–2014) compared with 2009 levels. This paper shows that the Tokyo ETS alone did not cause these reductions; there were other drivers. Among them, the energy savings triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 were crucial. The contribution of credit trading, in contrast, was limited since most of the covered entities reduced emissions by themselves. Through an investigation of official reports, an assessment of the emissions data from the covered entities compared to those of uncovered entities and in-depth interviews with firms covered by the scheme, this paper confirms that the main drivers of emissions reductions by covered entities were separate from the ETS. In fact, the advisory aspect of the scheme seems to be much more important in encouraging energy-saving actions.

Key policy insights

• Most of the observed emission reductions were not caused by the Tokyo ETS alone.

• An advisory instrument was crucial to the effectiveness of the Tokyo ETS.

• The experience of the Tokyo ETS suggests that making full use of the advantages of emissions trading is difficult in the case of the commercial sector.

• Price signals have not provided a stimulus to climate change mitigation actions, which implies that establishing a cap to yield effective carbon prices poses a challenge.

     

长江三角洲近46a气温和降水的变化趋势

利用长江三角洲地区84个气象站观测数据,分析了长江三角洲1961—2006年气温和降水的时空变化趋势。结果表明,46a间长江三角洲地区年平均气温上升趋势显著,冬季平均气温的增温幅度最大,春、秋次之。增温显著区域与城市带分布区域吻合。极端最低气温有明显上升,而年极端低温事件日数的下降趋势显著。部分地区的极端最高气温呈上升趋势,在城市密集带尤为突出。年降水量没有明显的变化趋势,但降水的季节分配有所变化,冬、夏季降水量呈现显著上升趋势,秋季降水量明显下降,春季没有明显变化。     

Dependence of wheat and rice respiration on tissue nitrogen and the corresponding net carbon fixation efficiency under different rates of nitrogen application

To quantitatively address the role of tissue N in crop respiration under various agricultural practices, and to consequently evaluate the impact of synthetic fertilizer N application on biomass production and respiration, and hence net carbon fixation efficiency （Encf）, pot and field experiments were carried out for an annual rotation of a rice-wheat cropping system from 2001 to 2003. The treatments of the pot experiments included fertilizer N application, sowing date and planting density. Different rates of N application were tested in the field experiments. Static opaque chambers were used for sampling the gas. The respiration as CO2 emission was detected by a gas chromatograph. A successive biomass clipping method was employed to determine the crop autotrophic respiration coefficient （Ra）. Results from the pot experiments revealed a linear relationship between Ra and tissue N content as Ra = 4.74N-1.45 （R^2= 0.85, P 〈 0.001）. Measurements and calculations from the field experiments indicated that fertilizer N application promoted not only biomass production but also increased the respiration of crops. A further investigation showed that the increase of carbon loss in terms of respiration owing to fertilizer N application exceeded that of net carbon gain in terms of aboveground biomass when fertilizer N was applied over a certain rate. Consequently, the Encf declined as the N application rate increased.     

温度对东北草原区亚洲飞蝗孵化的影响

为了阐明东北草原亚洲飞蝗孵化进程与热量条件的关系,利用人工气候箱进行了温度和积温对亚洲飞蝗越冬卵孵化影响的试验研究。结果表明：出蝻数、出蝻率、累积出蝻数、累积出蝻率均随日平均气温升高而增大。日最低温度连续3 d稳定通过25 ℃时,蝗虫开始萌动、孵化;在26.0 ℃左右时孵化最快。低于25.0 ℃时,蝗虫出蝻速率缓慢。25.0 ℃以上有效积温达到11.6 ℃•d,活动积温达到211.6 ℃•d时,蝗卵开始孵化出土。当有效积温增加到20 ℃•d,活动积温320 ℃•d后,孵化速度回落,紧接着达到第二个孵化小高峰,然后孵化过程结束。     

美国退出《巴黎协定》对全球温室气体排放的影响

现有研究表明美国退出《巴黎协定》将会在2025年导致其国内排放增加约1.2 Gt CO₂-eq,然而美国退出《巴黎协定》对全球气候治理的影响不仅限于此,还包括资金效应、政治效应,以及惯性效应等对全球排放的间接和长期影响。本文通过构建体现不同效应的全球温室气体排放情景,分析了美国退出《巴黎协定》后对全球温室气体排放可能造成的不同影响。结果表明,美国退出《巴黎协定》的自身效应、资金效应、对伞形国家的政治效应和对发展中国家的政治效应,将分别导致全球2030年的年温室气体净排放量(扣除碳汇吸收量后的温室气体排放量)上升2.0、1.0、1.0和1.9 Gt CO₂-eq,并导致全球2015—2100年的累计排放量分别上升246.9、145.3、102.0和270.2 Gt CO₂-eq。为防止美国退出《巴黎协定》的不利影响进一步扩大,中国应积极引领全球气候治理制度的建设与发展,与各国紧密合作全面平衡地推进《巴黎协定》的落实和实施。     

An updated estimation of radiative forcing due to CO2 and its effect on global surface temperature change

New estimations of radiative forcing due to CO2 were calculated using updated concentration data of CO2 and a high-resolution radiative transfer model. The stratospheric adjusted radiative forcing (ARF) due to CO2 from the year 1750 to the updated year of 2010 was found to have increased to 1.95 Wm－2, which was 17% larger than that of the IPCCs 4th Assessment Report because of the rapid increase in CO2 concentrations since 2005. A new formula is proposed to accurately describe the relationship between the ARF of CO2 and its concentration. Furthermore, according to the relationship between the ARF and surface temperature change, possible changes in equilibrium surface temperature were estimated under the scenarios that the concentration of CO2 increases to 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 times that of the concentration in the year 2008. The result was values of +2.2℃, +3.8℃, +5.1℃, +6.2℃, +7.1℃ and +8.0℃ respectively, based on a middle－level climate sensitivity parameter of 0.8 K (Wm－2)－1, Non－equilibrium surface temperature changes over the next 500 years were also calculated under two kinds of emission scenarios (pulsed and sustained emissions) as a comparison, according to the Absolute Global Temperature change Potential (AGTP) of CO2. Results showed that CO2 will likely continue to contribute to global warming if no emission controls are imposed, and the effect on the Earth－atmosphere system will be difficult to restore to its original level.     

气候变化影响与适应问题的谈判进展

 从《气候变化框架公约》（以下简称《公约》）第一次缔约方会议到目前为止,几乎历次会议都涉及气候变化影响与适应的谈判内容,但谈判进展甚微。通过综述《公约》谈判进程中与适应气候变化有关的主要决定,分析了适应气候变化影响与适应问题谈判的制约因素,最后提出了我国在气候变化影响与适应问题谈判中应持的立场。