Environmental Monitoring Network for India

Agrawal

2014

EcoProduction

The term ''carbon footprint'' has evolved as an important expression of greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity for diverse activities and products. Widespread public acceptance and the ease of conveying information about GHG intensity with this term has also attracted scientists and policy makers to review and refine its calculations. Standard methods for carbon footprinting have been prepared, and sector-specific standards are under development. These standards direct the procedures to carry out carbon footprinting through life cycle assessment in conjunction with GHG accounting, classifes activities into three tiers based on the order of emissions. Agriculture is the largest contributor to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, so the quantification of different agricultural practices is essential for identification of more sustainable practices. Carbon footprinting has potential as a tool for assessing and comparing GHG performances of different agricultural products along with identification of points to improve environmental efficiencies. Case studies on the application of carbon footprinting to cultivation practices are increasing in the scientific literature, but the majority of studies do not comply with the standard three-tier methodology. This leads to nonuniformity among different studies and their comparisons. Hence, a standard guideline addressing carbon footprinting specifically for agriculture is essential for the effective application of this tool in the quantification of GHG intensity, mitigation of global warming, and adaptation against future climate change scenarios.

Section: Estimation Of Ghg Emissions/removalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Collection Of Ghg Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint Estimation in the Agriculture Sector

Agrawal

2014

EcoProduction

“…The GHG protocol customized GHG calculation tools (WRI/WBCSD 2006), are worldwide accepted guidance for customizing the tools for calculating GHG flux so as to suit the respective sector or entity. Besides these, continuous GHG monitoring is going on and is being expanded to get broad spatial coverage (Sundareshwar et al 2007). For this, advanced measurement and monitoring systems (remote sensing, geographic information system, optical measurements etc.)…”

Section: Collection Of Ghg Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon footprint: current methods of estimation

Agrawal

2010

Environ Monit Assess

533

239

Increasing greenhouse gaseous concentration in the atmosphere is perturbing the environment to cause grievous global warming and associated consequences. Following the rule that only measurable is manageable, mensuration of greenhouse gas intensiveness of different products, bodies, and processes is going on worldwide, expressed as their carbon footprints. The methodologies for carbon footprint calculations are still evolving and it is emerging as an important tool for greenhouse gas management. The concept of carbon footprinting has permeated and is being commercialized in all the areas of life and economy, but there is little coherence in definitions and calculations of carbon footprints among the studies. There are disagreements in the selection of gases, and the order of emissions to be covered in footprint calculations. Standards of greenhouse gas accounting are the common resources used in footprint calculations, although there is no mandatory provision of footprint verification. Carbon footprinting is intended to be a tool to guide the relevant emission cuts and verifications, its standardization at international level are therefore necessary. Present review describes the prevailing carbon footprinting methods and raises the related issues.

“…BIODEPTH in European grasslands (Hector and Bagchi, 2007) ), will have to be conducted, along with a network of long-term environmental monitoring stations. Efforts are under way to set up a coordinated network of terrestrial, atmospheric and marine monitoring stations for India called INDOFLUX, along the lines of FLUXNET (Sundareshwar et al, 2007), that will begin addressing the environmental data gap. Simultaneously, ecological and socioeconomic research will need to be integrated to effectively inform forest management policy (Carpenter et al, 2006b).…”

Section: Feedbacks and Implications For Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem impacts of disturbance in a dry tropical forest in southern India

et al. 2008

Indian forests provide a multitude of services to vast populations. Common human activities including livestock grazing, fuelwood extraction and burning have the potential to impact forest ecosystem structure and function. The effects of these activities on vegetation, ecology and soil properties were investigated in Bandipur National Park (BNP) in southern India. Data were collected from 200 sites in four watersheds within the park. Sample sites spanned a degradation gradient measured by a field disturbance index (FDI). This paper focusses on the impacts on vegetation structure, diversity and composition, and integrates impacts on soil. Shrub and tree species were inventoried and evaluated in plots 10-m in diameter. The tree layer was dominated by Anogeissus-Emblica-Tectona species. The understory was dominated by invasives Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara, and native Gymnosporia emarginata. Vegetation plot heights, canopy cover and tree diameters were negatively correlated with field disturbance resulting in stunted forest stature in degraded sites. Vegetation composition in degraded watersheds was dominated by small woody tree species and a greater diversity of shrub species. Ordination analysis was used to integrate soil data with vegetation and disturbance, revealing that deciduous forest in the park is degrading to scrub forest along with negative impacts on soil characteristics. Consequences of services currently enjoyed by local populations are discussed.