Variation in methodology obscures clarity of cropland global warming potential estimates.

Global warming potential (GWP) estimates from agroecosystems are valuable for understanding management effects on climate regulation services. However, GWP estimates are complex, including attributes with high spatiotemporal variability. Published GWP estimates from cropland were compiled and methodological attributes known to influence GWP were extracted. Results revealed considerable variation in approaches to estimate GWP. Among carbon balance methods, respiration methods were used most frequently (33%), followed by soil carbon stock change over time (30%). Twenty six percent of studies did not account for carbon change in GWP estimates. Duration of gas flux measurements ranged from 0.5 to 60 months, with weekly and sub-weekly sampling most common (34 and 33%, respectively). Carbon dioxide equivalent conversion factors generally aligned with IPCC recommendations through 2014 but diverged thereafter. This review suggests the need for increased transparency in how GWP estimates are derived and communicated. Presentation of key metadata alongside GWP estimates are recommended. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Journal of Environmental Quality

• Publication date

  2023-02-28

• Fields of study

  Agricultural and Food Sciences, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/jeq2.20467PMID 36853851
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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