Evaluating UNFCCC reporting systems for agricultural fires using MODIS active fires
Hsiao-Wen
Lin, Department of Earth System Science, UC Irvine, hwlin@uci.edu
(Presenting)
Yufang
Jin, Department of Earth System Science, UC Irvine, yufang@uci.edu
Louis
Giglo, Science Systems and Applications Inc., louis_giglio@ssaihq.com
Jonathan
A.
Foley, Institute on the Environment, U. Minnesota, jfoley@umn..edu
James
T.
Randerson, Department of Earth System Science, UC Irvine, jranders@uci.edu
Agricultural fires in croplands emit greenhouse gases and aerosols that influence climate on multiple timescales. Annex 1 countries are required to report emissions of CO2 CH4 and N2O from these fires as a part of their annual communication to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Here we evaluated several aspects of this reporting system including the distribution of fires among different Annex 1 countries, the distribution of fires across different crop types within several Annex 1 countries, and the success of the crop types targeted by the UNFCCC for capturing global patterns of agricultural waste burning. In our approach we combined maps of agriculture developed by Center of Sustainability of Global Environment (SAGE) at University of Wisconsin, Madison with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua fire counts (MOD14 and MYD14). We found that wheat and rice contributed the most to open field agricultural waste burning at a global scale during 2001-2006. Other crops were important for regional burning, including sugarcane in the US, maize in Central America, cotton and soybean in South America, oil palm in Southeastern Asia, and peas and cassava in North Africa. Fire use peaked at medium yield and cropping intensity, suggesting less intense fire use by small-scale farms and by highly mechanized agro industry. The UNFCCC reporting system for Annex 1 countries caught top burned crop types such as wheat and rice, but missed crops important for regional burning.
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Session: Ecosystems Science
NASA TE Funded Awards Represented:
Randerson, James
Global fire emissions derived from Terra and Aqua satellites