No burning sugarcane trashes makes sugarcane production - net carbon sequestering
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Abstract
The No cane burning/trash farming practice could shift sugarcane production from carbon emitting into carbon sequestering (carbon negative) due to the following: 1) direct C-sequestration from humus-C incorporated in the soil at 6.0 t CO2e/ha ; 2) avoidance of emission of CH4, CO, N2O during cane burning at 1.794 t CO2e/ha ; 3) Increased the ratoon cycles from the usual one to two ratoons to 4 up to 6 ratoons leads to avoided carbon dioxide emission at 0.257 t CO2e/ha/ratoon ; 4) the conserved three macronutrients (N, P, K) at 0.814. t CO2e/ha ; 5)the avoided emission due to N-fixation in the decomposing trash that reduces the nitrogen fertilizer input to be applied to grow sugarcane at 3.09 t CO2e/ha; or a total of 11.955 t CO2e/ha . The calculated carbon emission in the usual sugarcane production practice centered on burning canes was 7.591 t CO2e/ha .The ex –ante carbon balance of no burning /trash farming is 4.364 t CO2e/ha . The challenge is how to STOP burning of canes before and after harvest. An agro-environmental Protocol must be formulated and be agreed upon by the planters association and the government for implementation in the different sugarcane producing provinces.
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