Abstract
Fisheries capture has plateaued, creating ever-greater reliance on aquaculture to feed growing populations. Aquaculture volumes now exceed those of capture fisheries globally 1,2 , with China dominating production through major land-use change; more than half of Chinese freshwater aquaculture systems have been converted from paddy fields 1,3 . However, the greenhouse gas implications of this expansion have yet to be effectively quantified. Here, we measure year-round methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from paddy fields and new, extensively managed crab aquaculture ponds. The conversion increased associated global warming potentials from 8.15 ± 0.43 to 28.0 ± 4.1 MgCO 2 eq ha −1 , primarily due to increased CH 4 emissions. After compiling a worldwide database of different freshwater aquaculture systems, the top 21 producers were estimated to release 6.04 ± 1.17 TgCH 4 and 36.7 ± 6.1 GgN 2 O in 2014. We found that 80.3% of the total CH 4 emitted originated in shallow earthen aquaculture systems, with far lower emissions from intensified systems with continuous aeration 4 . We therefore propose that greater adoption of aerated systems is urgently required to address globally significant rises in CH 4 emissions from the conversion of paddy fields to aquaculture.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 318-322 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Nature Climate Change |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 Apr 1 |
Fingerprint
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cite this
}
Rapid growth in greenhouse gas emissions from the adoption of industrial-scale aquaculture. / Yuan, Junji; Xiang, Jian; Liu, Deyan; Kang, Hojeong; He, Tiehu; Kim, Sunghyun; Lin, Yongxin; Freeman, Chris; Ding, Weixin.
In: Nature Climate Change, Vol. 9, No. 4, 01.04.2019, p. 318-322.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter
TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid growth in greenhouse gas emissions from the adoption of industrial-scale aquaculture
AU - Yuan, Junji
AU - Xiang, Jian
AU - Liu, Deyan
AU - Kang, Hojeong
AU - He, Tiehu
AU - Kim, Sunghyun
AU - Lin, Yongxin
AU - Freeman, Chris
AU - Ding, Weixin
PY - 2019/4/1
Y1 - 2019/4/1
N2 - Fisheries capture has plateaued, creating ever-greater reliance on aquaculture to feed growing populations. Aquaculture volumes now exceed those of capture fisheries globally 1,2 , with China dominating production through major land-use change; more than half of Chinese freshwater aquaculture systems have been converted from paddy fields 1,3 . However, the greenhouse gas implications of this expansion have yet to be effectively quantified. Here, we measure year-round methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from paddy fields and new, extensively managed crab aquaculture ponds. The conversion increased associated global warming potentials from 8.15 ± 0.43 to 28.0 ± 4.1 MgCO 2 eq ha −1 , primarily due to increased CH 4 emissions. After compiling a worldwide database of different freshwater aquaculture systems, the top 21 producers were estimated to release 6.04 ± 1.17 TgCH 4 and 36.7 ± 6.1 GgN 2 O in 2014. We found that 80.3% of the total CH 4 emitted originated in shallow earthen aquaculture systems, with far lower emissions from intensified systems with continuous aeration 4 . We therefore propose that greater adoption of aerated systems is urgently required to address globally significant rises in CH 4 emissions from the conversion of paddy fields to aquaculture.
AB - Fisheries capture has plateaued, creating ever-greater reliance on aquaculture to feed growing populations. Aquaculture volumes now exceed those of capture fisheries globally 1,2 , with China dominating production through major land-use change; more than half of Chinese freshwater aquaculture systems have been converted from paddy fields 1,3 . However, the greenhouse gas implications of this expansion have yet to be effectively quantified. Here, we measure year-round methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from paddy fields and new, extensively managed crab aquaculture ponds. The conversion increased associated global warming potentials from 8.15 ± 0.43 to 28.0 ± 4.1 MgCO 2 eq ha −1 , primarily due to increased CH 4 emissions. After compiling a worldwide database of different freshwater aquaculture systems, the top 21 producers were estimated to release 6.04 ± 1.17 TgCH 4 and 36.7 ± 6.1 GgN 2 O in 2014. We found that 80.3% of the total CH 4 emitted originated in shallow earthen aquaculture systems, with far lower emissions from intensified systems with continuous aeration 4 . We therefore propose that greater adoption of aerated systems is urgently required to address globally significant rises in CH 4 emissions from the conversion of paddy fields to aquaculture.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062442040&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062442040&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41558-019-0425-9
DO - 10.1038/s41558-019-0425-9
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:85062442040
VL - 9
SP - 318
EP - 322
JO - Nature Climate Change
JF - Nature Climate Change
SN - 1758-678X
IS - 4
ER -