NO2 emissions from agricultural burning in São Paulo, Brazil.
We report here on the application of a compact ultraviolet spectrometer to measurement of NO2 emissions from sugar cane field burns in São Paulo, Brazil. The time-resolved NO2 emission from a 10 ha plot peaked at about 240 g (NO2) s(-1), and amounted to a total yield of approximately 50 kg of N, or about 0.5 g (N) m(-2). Emission of N as NOx (i.e., NO + NO2) was estimated at 2.5 g (N) m(-2), equivalent to 30% of applied fertilizer nitrogen. The corresponding annual emission of NOx nitrogen from São Paulo State sugar cane burning was >45 Gg N. In contrast to mechanized harvesting, which does not require prior burning of the crop, manual harvesting with burning acts to recycle nitrogen into surface soils and ecosystems.
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK. co200@cam.ac.uk
Clive
C
Oppenheimer
Vitchko I
VI
Tsanev
Andrew G
AG
Allen
Andrew J S
AJ
McGonigle
Arnaldo A
AA
Cardoso
Antony
A
Wiatr
Willian
W
Paterlini
Cristine de Mello
Cde M
Dias
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017745:Incineration / Q000379:methods; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D031786:Saccharum; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
D000393:Air Pollutants; D012906:Smoke; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide