Sustainable Agriculture to

Reduce Carbon Footprint,

Save Water, and Improve
Air Quality
Professor Hon-Ming Lam
Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming
The Mechanism
of a Greenhouse

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-working-principle-of-
greenhouse_fig4_258833765
 Greenhouse Effect
The current average global temperature is 15℃
Sun Visible light
Without greenhouse effect, it will be -18 ℃
Infrared

Partial
absorption

Re-emitted Re-emitted
infrared infrared

Greenhouse
gas

Atmospheric GHG reduces infrared radiation from escaping back to

space, hence trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet
https://www.hko.gov.hk/tc/climate_change/human_activities.htm
 Water Vapour is the Earth’s Most Abundant GHG
After reaching saturation point,
it condenses into cloud,
eventually forms rain.

Increasing
Atmospheric water vapour
temperature concentration
increases in the
atmosphere

Water
vapour
enhances
https://climate.nasa.gov/ask-nasa-climate/3143/steamy-relationships-how-atmospheric-water-vapor-
GH effect supercharges-earths-greenhouse-effect/
 Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Deforestation, carbon sink reduction

Human Activities that • Power generation: Industry, agriculture, transport,

communication, domestic
Increase Atmospheric Ozone (O3)

GHG Concentration • Stratosphere：Oxygen + UV

• Troposphere：Traffic, factory, fossil fuel, combustion,
consumables, paint etc.
Halocarbons

• Natural: wildfire, volcano, algae

• Artificial: landfill, refrigerator, aerosol (CFCs)

Methane (CH4)
• Coal mining, natural gas, crude oil, landfill, livestock

Nitrous dioxide (N2O)

• Internal combustion, landfill, synthetic fertilizer

http://www.ces.fau.edu/nasa/module-2/how-greenhouse-effect-works.php

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials
 Global Warming and CO2

https://www.climate.gov/media/13840
Cooler Warmer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change#/media/File:Change_in_Average_
Temperature_With_Fahrenheit.svg
Why So Many Hot Days

https://climatecommission.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/130408-angry-summer-report.pdf
 Global Warming and Glacier Retreat

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-11-20/chinas-rapidly-retreating-glaciers-threaten-asias-water-supply-
101349937.html

https://www.meixingnan.com/lieq/shijianyinxiang/113950.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03705-x

Rising sea level, reducing fresh water supply

The Importance of Glaciers on Qilian Mountains
The source of
agricultural water
Sci. Rep. 10:17708

Shiyang River Basin (SYRB)

石羊河流域
Heihe River Basin (HHRB)
黑河流域
Shule River Basin (SLRB)
疏勒河流域
Melting of Polar Ice Cap Endanger Polar Animals

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/greenland-antarctica-melting-six-times-faster-than-in-the-1990s
https://www.scientistswarning.org/2022/01/12/arctic-death-spiral/

• Reducing albedo reflection increases heat absorbance and warming

• Ice melting & thermal expansion causing sea level to rise
• Endangering polar species
 Rise in Global Average Sea Level

Fall Rise

https://www.sohu.com/a/437924135_650579
 Flooding Risk in Delta Regions

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Relative-vulnerability-of-coastal-deltas-as-indicated-by-estimates-of-the-population_fig4_285797606
Coastal Area or Even the Whole
Country Will Be Flooded
The Maldives are
disappearing

https://hk.news.yahoo.com/全球-即將消失-世界美景-032030831.html

Venice, Italy 2019-11-15

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/climate-change-coastal-flooding-could-hit-
20percent-of-gdp-by-2100.html https://www.wenweipo.com/a/202206/21/AP62b11340e4b
033218a53492b.html
Global Warming and
Extreme Climates
 Rising Ocean Temperature & Energy Changes
The Magnitude, Frequency & Distribution of Cyclones
9 Simultaneous cyclones on Earth (2018)

https://www.storm.mg/article/500370
 Global Warming May Intensify Flooding
Increased evaporation and raining, changing raining patterns

Shangrao, Jiangxi
Hong Kong 2023-09-09 2022-06-11 Henan 2021-07

https://www.dawn.com/news/1774826 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/08/ https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3154543/

china-floods-heat-wave-climate-change/ climate-change-china-farms-are-hit-extreme-weather-
ordinary
 Global Warming May Intensify Droughts
Inconclusive data, but the change in raining patterns will cause regional droughts

https://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/edov2/php/index.php?id=1000
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/23/europe-drought-worst-in-at-least-500-years-eu-report.html
https://www.preventionweb.net/news/droughts-europe-july-2022-almost-half-eu-uk-territory-risk
High Temperature and Aridity Increased
Wildfire Magnitude & Frequency
2020 Australia Wildfire
https://abcnews.go.com/International/billio
n-animals-estimated-dead-australia-
wildfires/story?id=68143966

2022 Europe Wildfire

https://www.reuters.com/business/environ
ment/spain-portugal-battle-wildfires-
heatwaves-scorch-southern-europe-2022-
07-17/

2020 California Wildfire

https://laist.com/latest/post/20200814/ranch-fire-
updates-day-2

https://patch.com/california/across-ca/santa-ana-
diablo-winds-arrive-fan-flames-50-mph-gusts
Effects of Climate Change on Crops
Warming could extend the growing period in cold regions

Increased CO 2 could enhance production but harm crop quality (reduced nitrogen)

Unpredictable extreme weather will affect farming

Extreme temperature & rainfall (flooding, drought) destroy crops

Many weeds, pests and fungi will proliferate under rising temperature, humidity and
atmospheric CO 2

Climate change could reduce global food production

by 18% and increase irrigation demand by 25%
Leclre et al. Environ. Res. Lett (2014)
https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-agriculture-and-food-
supply_.html#crops
Desert Locust 2018-2020

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/factsheet/locust-attack-global-swarming-69005
Solitary Versus Gregarious Desert Locust

Integr Comp Biol (2016) 56:914-924

 Solitary vs. Gregarious Desert Locust Swarm
Desert Locust

https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=3213 https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/story/qa-impact-desert-locusts-horn-
and-eastern-africa
% of Greenhouse Gas Generated by Agricultural Activities

https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/68831/1/1111.pdf
Production and Application of Fertilizers Are
Major Sources of Greenhouse Gases
Liebig’s Law of the Minimum
Plant growth is limited not by total resources available,
but by the scarcest resource

http://fertsmart.dairyingfortomorrow.com.au/dairy-soils-and-fertiliser-manual/chapter-3-plant-nutrient-requirements/3-3-the-essential-plant-nutrients/
Fertilizers are Important for Crop Yield

China belongs to the

high input – high
output group: 6.32 ton
production with
166.38 Kg N fertilizer
per hectare
Overuse of Fertilizers

https://ourworldindata.org/fertilizers
Production, Transportation and Application of Synthetic N Fertilizers
Requires High Energy Input & Has High Carbon Emission
Maintaining high pressure and Global Warming Potential (GWP) of N2O is 298 times of
temperature requires high energy input that of CO2; Its average atmospheric lifetime is 116 years

https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/the-haber-
bosch-process-what-is-it-why-is-the-process-so-
important.html
 N Fertilizer is a Major Source of Greenhouse Gas Emission
~5 % of Total greenhouse gas is
generated by N fertilizer synthesis
and utilization (Nat. Food 4:170–
178)
 N Fertilizer is a Major Source of Greenhouse Gas Emission
In average, 1 Kg N fertilizer
synthesis, transportation, and
utilization will release 10.5 Kg
CO2 (Sci. Rep. 12:14490)
 Legume (e.g. Soybean) Can Undergo
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation with Rhizobia

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/
pharmacology-toxicology-and-
pharmaceutical-science/rhizobium
 Legume (e.g. Soybean) Can Undergo
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation with Rhizobia
Soybean can fix ~100 Kg N/Ha/Yr
(Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 5: 767998)

Biological Nitrogen Cycle

Crop Rotation Using Soybean

https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/aj/abstracts/108/6/2313?search-result=1
Companion Plants (伴植)

Azolla spp. (紅浮萍) as companion plants

for rice have been practised in China over
1000 years）
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D6HlPR_cE4
https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/vegetables/tips/beneficial-companion-planting/
 Benefits of Intercropping
Intercropping: sown simultaneously
Time-relay intercropping: sown at
different times

Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 5: 767998

http://articles.extension.org/pages/64401/legume-inoculation-for-organic-farming-systems
Intercropping and Time-Relay Intercropping
Using Soybean

http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlpaper/2020/6/2020651102055356864.shtm

Intercropping (間作) Time-Relay Intercropping (套作)

Anning: Wuwei:
Intercropping with
wheat, maize and flax
(2018)

(2021) Intercropping with

apple and poplar trees
Qingyang City (2016)
Huining: (2019)
Planting and Eating Soybean can Also Reduce Air Pollution

https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/tc/press/cuhk-research-hints-at-feasibility-of-sustainable-
http://www.hkcd.com/hkcdweb/content/2021/12/28/content_1314868.ht farming-practices-as-a-means-to-resolve-the-worsening-food-crisis-and-air-pollution-
ml problem/

Plant more soybean Eat more soybean

Fresh Water Scarcity
 Sources of Water

• Freshwater – 2.5% of all water

• More than 2/3 freshwater was locked in
glaciers and ice caps
• ~1% freshwater is easily accessible surface
freshwater (~0.025% of all the water on Earth)
• But annual renewable freshwater supply is
only ~ 0.000008% of all the water on Earth

Source: “Dividing the Water”

http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php?part=2&sec=natres&sub=water
 Annual Renewable Freshwater Supplies
• Annual renewable freshwater supply ~
0.000008% of all the water on Earth
• Via the hydrological cycle (water cycle)
driven by solar energy
• Each year, nearly 2/3 of this renewable
supply returns to the atmosphere through
evaporation or transpiration
(evapotranspiration)
• Evapotranspiration represents the water
supply for forests, grasslands, rain-fed
croplands, and all other non-irrigated
vegetation

Source: “Dividing the Water” http://www.fao.org/docrep/S2022E/s2022e02.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Water_cycle.png
 Annual Renewable
Freshwater Supplies
● Just over 1/3 of the renewable water supply is runoff, the flow
of freshwater from land to sea through rivers, streams, and
underground (aquifers 蓄水層)
● Runoff 徑流 is the source of water for all human uses: irrigated
agriculture, industry, and a wide variety of “instream” water
services
● “Instream” water services include the maintenance of
freshwater fisheries, navigation, the dilution of pollutants, and
the generation of hydroelectric power.
● Rivers also carry nutrients from the land to the seas, and in
this way help support the highly productive fisheries of coastal
bays and estuaries.
● By the hydrologic cycle: the oceans water the continents, and
the continents nourish the oceans.
See “Dividing the Water”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Water_cycle.png
 Uneven Distribution of Rainfall

When rainfall is not adequate to support agriculture,

irrigation will be needed.
Source: https://eldoradoweather.com/climate/world-
https://eldoradoweather.com/climate/world-maps/world-annual-precip-map.html maps/world-annual-precip-map.html
Imbalance in Runoff and Population Distribution

Source: “Dividing the Waters”

Global Distribution of the Ratio of Abstraction
to Availability in 1995

http://hydro.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Info/Press200207/Doc/HSJ2001Oki.pdf
 Irrigated Area by Continent, 2003
250
Source: FAO

200
Million Hectares

150

100

50

0
Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America

www.worldwatch.org
Average Water Needed by Different Crops

https://www.fao.org/3/s2022e/s2022e02.htm
 Irrigation and Water Demand
– 1 kg of cereal
needs 1,000 L water
– 1 tomato
needs 11 L water
– 1 kg of beef
needs 13,500 L water
Estimated Global Water Demand & Consumption

Dividing the Waters (1996) by Sandra Postel

 Exhausting Underground Water
● Pumping underground water
● Some countries pump at rates that rainfall cannot replenish
● Libya pumping 7X more water annually for irrigation than it receives
● India pumping water at twice the recharge rate; water tables fall by 1-3
m a year; but crop production could fall by 25% if it gave up
groundwater “mining”

http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php?part=2&sec=natres&sub=water
 Disaster Can be
Caused by Improper
Irrigation
 Demand in Agriculture Destroy Water
Resources: the Case of Aral Sea 鹹海
● Former USSR decided to use Central Asia as a major base to
grow cotton
● 1 Kg cotton = 7000 to 29000 L water
● In 1954, construct a large canal to divert water from the
Amu Dar’ya
● Emptied the Aral Sea, destroying fisheries, depopulating
large areas and causing epidemics of disease

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea
River Flow into Aral Sea 1926-2003

Source: “State of the World 2006”

 Demand in Agriculture Destroy an
Ecosystem: the Case of Aral Sea 鹹海
• The sea's surface area has shrunk by approximately 60%, and
its volume by 80%.
• In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world's fourth-largest lake, with an
area of approximately 68,000 km² and a volume of 1100 km³
• By 1998, it had dropped to 28,687 km², and eighth-largest. Over
the same time period its salinity has increased from about 10 g/l
to about 45 g/l.
• As of 2004, the Aral Sea's surface area was only 17,160 km²,
25% of its original size, and still contracting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea
The Shrinkage of Aral Sea

http://www.life123.org/cotton.htm
The Shrinkage of Aral Sea

http://www.life123.org/cotton.htm
 Lake Chad 乍得湖
• In the 1960s it had an area of more than 26,000 km², making it
the fourth largest lake in Africa.
• By 2000 its extent had fallen to less than 1,500 km².
• “The United Nations Environment Programme” : about half of
the lake's decrease is attributable to human water use such as
inefficient damming and irrigation methods. The other half of
the shrinkage is due to shifting climate patterns (i.e.. reduced
rainfall).
• The lake will shrink further and perhaps even disappear
altogether in the course of the 21st century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tchad
Lake Chad乍得湖

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tchad
Fresh Water Scarcity is Particularly
Serious in China
Per Capita Total Annual Renewable Water Resources
Uneven Precipitation in China

• Arid region: average

annual precipitation
<200mm
• Semi-arid region:
average annual
precipitation 200-500mm

Water (2019) 11:881

https://www.easyatm.com.tw/wiki/乾旱區
Desertification
in China

http://www.ampcn.com/datainfo/picdata/imgshow.asp?id=565
Depletion of Aquifers in Relationship to
Irrigation Using Underground Water

Water Resources Research (2013) 49:2110–2118

 Pollution
Exacerbates
China’s Water
Scarcity
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14532-5
 Finding a Solution
Government • More effective land use – reducing population in rural
planning area

Conservation • Restoring forests, grasslands, and wetlands

Water Engineering • South-to-North Water Diversion Project

Improvement on • Water saving agriculture

Irrigation efficiency
• Generating crops with high yield
Breeding and • Generating crops with high tolerance to stressful environment
Biotechnology • Generating crops with high resistance to pests and pathogens
South–North Water Diversion（南水北調）

https://baike.baidu.hk/item/南水北調/500990
 Modernization of Irrigation Systems

• Well-Canal (井渠結合) Enable multi-level,

irrigation system in flexible management
Northern China:
conjunctive use of
underground and
surface water
• Melons-on-the-Vine
irrigation system in
Southern China: enable
multi-level, flexible
management http://www.watercontrol.org/tech/files/Downstream%20of%20Irrigation%20Water%20Pricing.pdf
 Water Saving Irrigation
• Sprinkler irrigation 噴灌
• Drip irrigation 滴灌
• Plastic film mulching (covering) 覆膜農業
• Non-full irrigation 非充分灌溉
• Use of drought (dryness) crops 利用抗旱作物
• Others
 Sprinkler Irrigation 噴灌
• Water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and
distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns.
• Providing good control of water application.
• Can Deliver fertilizers using the same system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation#Drip.2C_or_trickle_irrigation
 Drip Irrigation 滴灌
• Water is delivered at or near the root zone of
plants, drop by drop.
• Evaporation and runoff are minimized.
• Also a means of delivery of fertilizer to minimize
usage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation#Drip.2C_or_trickle_irrigation
Plastic film mulching (covering)
覆膜農業
 Non-full irrigation 非充分灌溉
● Only apply a portion of water needed by the crops
● Crop plants adapt to water deficient conditions by reducing
stoma size
● Leading to reduced transpiration and water loss
● Other compensation systems in plants will turn on to maintain
growth (i.e. yield)
Using Climate Resilient Crops
Soybean Cultivation in Longnan

隴南 2023
Soybean Cultivation in Longnan
 Soybean for Forage Shenyang

Shanxi

Gausu
Intercropping for Sustainable Environment

Jinyuan: Wuwei:
(2021) with
Wheat, Flax,
& Maize
with Poplar and
(2018)
Apple trees
(2016) (2019)
Qingyang: Huining:

79
Intercropping with Gingko on Tidal Flat (Dongtai, Jiangsu)