Carbon-Emission Density of Crop Production in China: Spatiotemporal Characteristics, Regional Disparities, and Convergence

Haoyue Wu, Wanqi Yan, Xiangjiang Zheng, Lei Zhou, Jinshan Ma, Lu Liu and Yue Meng ()
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Haoyue Wu: School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Wanqi Yan: College of Business and Tourism, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611830, China
Xiangjiang Zheng: School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Lei Zhou: School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Jinshan Ma: School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Lu Liu: School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Yue Meng: College of Business and Tourism, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611830, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: An analysis of carbon emissions of crop production provides paths for global warming mitigation. Existing studies have focused on the magnitude of the carbon emissions from crop production, which is unreasonable for inter-location comparison due to neglecting regional variations in cultivation technologies and planting scale. Different from the conventional idea, this paper estimated the carbon-emission density of crop production (CEDCP) based on carbon emissions per hectare of crop production. With the 30 Chinese provinces between 2000 and 2020 as the study area, temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of the CEDCP were explored, regional disparities of the CEDCP were discussed based on the Theil index, and the possibility of regional coordinated optimization for the CEDCP was explored by relying on the convergence tests. The results show that the average annual CEDCP in China was 1.462 t/hm 2 , reaching a peak of 1.576 t/hm 2 in 2015. The national carbon-emission densities of agricultural materials, rice fields, soil management, and straw burning were 0.492 t/hm 2 , 0.390 t/hm 2 , 0.189 t/hm 2 , and 0.391 t/hm 2 , respectively. In many provinces, the CEDCP increased first and then decreased, presenting a spatial pattern of high in the eastern region and low in the western region. Regional disparities of CEDCP shrank early but expanded later, and the disparities within the western region had always contributed considerably to the overall disparities. The CEDCP had shown σ- and β- convergence in both national and regional scales, and the convergence process had positive spillover effects. These findings suggest that inter-provincial cooperation may facilitate the CEDCP to converge.

Keywords: carbon emissions; crop production; carbon footprint; spatiotemporal characteristics; convergence test; spatial econometric model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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