Influence of Sugarcane Burning on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Release Under Drought and Evapotranspiration Conditions in a Mexican Sugarcane Supply Zone

Abstract

Sugarcane cultivation is an agricultural activity of worldwide importance. This crop has been cultivated in Mexico for centuries, impacting important productive areas like the study region called Huasteca Potosina which is located at the Central-East part of Mexico. The relationship between soil conditions, weather and production per hectare allows identifying the edaphological and climatic conditions (aptitude levels) for cultivating sugarcane in the study area. The objective of this research work is to analyze the relation between the cultivated hectares and production of sugarcane. Likewise, to explain its behavior and interpret the contribution of N and C released to the atmosphere for burning sugar cane in association with events and meteorological parameters involved in the flux of water between soil and atmosphere such as drought, evapotranspiration and rainfall. The methods and indicators for burning waste provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the value of potential evapotranspiration as Thornthwaite and drought severity index were applied in order to understand the correlations between the drought severity index and potential evapotranspiration, and between C and N release and potential rainfall availability. The results show the increment of harvested hectares and the loss of water from the soil by the increase of periods of drought events and evapotranspiration. The volatilized nutrients in soil varied from 1.32 × 10 5 to 2.17 × 10 5 t for C and from 1.32 × 10 3 t to 2.17 × 10 3 t for N during the burning of sugarcane, affecting production levels with values fluctuating between 38 t/ha to 77 t/ha for the term of 1990-2010. Palabras clave: calidad del suelo, eventos meteorológicos, quema de residuos, flujo de agua Rev. Int. Contam. Ambie. 32 (2) 177-189, 2016 DOI: 10.20937/RICA.2016 D.E. Flores-Jiménez et al. 178 RESUMENEl cultivo de caña de azúcar es una actividad agrícola de importancia mundial llevada a cabo en México durante siglos, impactando importantes áreas productivas como la región de estudio llamada Huasteca Potosina, localizada al este central de México. La relación entre las condiciones del suelo, clima y producción por hectárea permite identificar las condiciones edafológicas y climáticas (niveles de aptitud) para cultivar la caña de azúcar en el área de estudio. Bajo este contexto, el objetivo fue analizar la relación entre las hectáreas cultivadas y la producción de caña de azúcar y explicar su comportamiento al interpretar las contribuciones del N y C liberados a la atmósfera por la quema de caña asociados a eventos y parámetros meteorológicos involucrados en el flujo de agua entre el suelo y la atmósfera como sequía, evapotranspiración y lluvia. Los métodos e indicadores para la quema de residuos provistos por el Panel Intergubernamental del Cambio Climático (IPCC, por sus siglas en inglés), el valor de la evapotranspiración potencial por Thornthwaite y el índice de severidad de la sequía fueron aplicados para comprender las correlaciones entre...

Correlation of Soil Physiochemical Properties, Microorganism Numbers, and Bacterial Communities Following Unburned and Burned Sugarcane Harvest

“…Te pH was more acidic, the moisture loss was about 20%, and the total nitrogen was reduced compared to not burning (Table 1). Tese results were consistent with those of Flores-Jiménez et al [36], who reported volatilized nitrogen nutrients and water loss from the soil during sugarcane burning. Arocena and Opio [37] reported that a pH decrease was generally caused by the loss of base cations during burning.…”

Bioreactors for remediation of hydrocarbons in rivers and lagoons of San Luis Potosí

“…Moreover, studies have been carried out using 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HPO) as a biomarker to pyrene in urine samples women and children from vulnerable rural populations, indicating presence of PAHs generated from the burning of biomass for heating and cooking in the homes of these communities (Martínez-Salinas et al, 2010;Palacios-Ramírez et al, 2018). Furthermore, in research published in 2016, trans, trans-muconic acid (t, t-MA) was used as biomarker to benzene and was detected in children from rural communities in San Luis Potosí (Flores-Jiménez et al, 2016). Moreover, burning sugarcane is an important hydrocarbon source (pyrogenic) in the Huasteca Potosina (Flores-Jiménez et al, 2016), and this could be more relevant than possible hydrocarbons petrogenic sources for adjacent communities (Maioli, Knoppers, & Azevedo, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, in research published in 2016, trans, trans-muconic acid (t, t-MA) was used as biomarker to benzene and was detected in children from rural communities in San Luis Potosí (Flores-Jiménez et al, 2016). Moreover, burning sugarcane is an important hydrocarbon source (pyrogenic) in the Huasteca Potosina (Flores-Jiménez et al, 2016), and this could be more relevant than possible hydrocarbons petrogenic sources for adjacent communities (Maioli, Knoppers, & Azevedo, 2009).…”

“…Burning of wood and coal was also identified as a source of hydrocarbon pollution in the studies of Martínez-Salinas et al, 2010 andPalacios-Ramírez et al, 2018 in San Luis Potosí. Furthermore, the production of sugarcane in Huasteca Potosina is an important source of hydrocarbons that are produced by burning sugarcane, mainly for the sampling point of Tampaon River that is within the sugarcane zone (Flores-Jiménez et al, 2016).…”

Competitive Management of Sugarcane Waste and Reduction of CO2 Emissions from Harvest Burning in Supply Regions

“…The biomass burning can also increase if there is an increase in available hectares to plant this crop. In Mexico, this situation occurs in its main cane harvesting regions [10,11].…”