Last reviewed on 12-01-2023

Documentation of California's Greenhouse Gas Inventory (2023 Edition - Last updated on 12-1-2023)

♦ Category: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

IPCC: 3C1b - Aggregate Sources and Non-CO2 Emissions Sources on Land - Emissions from Biomass Burning - Biomass Burning in Croplands
Sector: Agriculture & Forestry : Ag Residue Burning : Orchard & Vineyard

♦ Activity: Crop acreage burned - Almond

♦ Greenhouse gas: Nitrous oxide ( N2O )

► Year 2001 —

● Greenhouse gas emission estimate —

Amount: 68.10 tonnes of N2O Emitted (20,295 tonnes CO2 Eq.)
Basis: Calculation
Calculation: [Crop acreage burned] * [Acre to hectare conversion] * [Crop residue] * [N2O emission factor]
Reference: CARB (2016). Technical support document on GHG inventory methodologies for the 2000-2014 inventory. See Discussion of emissions from agricultural residue burning available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2014/ghg_inventory_https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2014/ghg_inventory_00-14_technical_support_document.pdf

● Activity level used in calculations —

Activity: Crop acreage burned = 445,200 acre of Almond
Basis: Calculation
Calculation: [Crop acreage] * [Fraction of acreage burned]
Reference: CARB (2016). Technical support document on GHG inventory methodologies for the 2000-2014 inventory. See Discussion of emissions from agricultural residue burning available at: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2014/ghg_inventory_https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2014/ghg_inventory_00-14_technical_support_document.pdf
Reference: Not Applicable.

● Parameters and Constants used in calculations —

Parameter: Crop acreage = 530,000 acre
Reference: USDA (2016). U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Quick Stats. Accessed online at: http://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/
Parameter: Crop residue = 1,890,000 g / ha
Reference: Jenkins, B.M., Turn, S.Q., and Williams, R.B. (1992). Atmospheric Emissions from Agricultural Burning in California: Determination of Burn Fractions, Distribution Factors, and Crop-specific Contributions. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 38: 313-330.
Parameter: Fraction of acreage burned = 0.84
Reference: Jenkins, B.M., Turn, S.Q., and Williams, R.B. (1992). Atmospheric Emissions from Agricultural Burning in California: Determination of Burn Fractions, Distribution Factors, and Crop-specific Contributions. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 38: 313-330.
Parameter: N2O emission factor = 2.000E-04
Reference: Jenkins, B.M. et al. (1996). Atmospheric Pollutant Emission Factors from Open Burning of Agricultural and Forest Biomass by Wind Tunnel Simulation. California Air Resources Board, A932-126, April 1996. (see in particular Tables 4.1.1 - 4.1.8). http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/single-project.php?row_id=55021
Constant: Acre to hectare conversion = 0.4046873
Reference: NIST (2008). Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI). Ambler Thompson & Barry N. Taylor (Ed.). NIST Special Publication 811, 2008 edition. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD. http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf
Constant: Global warming potential of N2O = 298
Reference: IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Solomon S., Qin D., Manning M., Chen Z., Marquis M., Averyt K.B., Tignor M., and Miller H.L. (eds.). http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm

● Greenhouse gas emitted per unit activity (derived from values listed above) —

Amount: 153 g of N2O per acre of Almond
45,585 g (i.e. 45.59 kg) of CO2eq. per acre of Almond