Re‐quantifying the emission factors based on field measurements and estimating the direct N2O emission from Chinese croplands

The authors collect 54 direct N2O emission factors (EFds) obtained from 12 sites of Chinese croplands, of which 60% are underestimated by 29% and 30% are overestimated by 50% due to observation shortages. The biases of EFds are corrected and their uncertainties are re‐estimated. Of the 31 site‐scale EFds, 42% are lower by 58% and 26% are higher by 143% than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default. Periodically wetting/drying the fields or doubling nitrogen fertilizers may double or even triple an EFd. The direct N2O emission from Chinese croplands is estimated at 275 × 109 g N2O‐N yr−1 in the 1990s, of which ∼20% is due to vegetable cultivation. The great uncertainty of this estimate, −79% to 135%, is overwhelmingly due to the huge uncertainty in estimating EFds (−78 ± 15% to 129 ± 62%). Direct N2O emission intensities significantly depend upon the economic situation of the region, implicating a larger potential emission in the future.

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