Page 149 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 1

Dalya Hazar Kalonya

larger area (e.g., Africa). It is estimated that pastures store at least 10% of
the global carbon storage in the soil (Anderson, 1991; Eswaran et al, 1993).
Pastures are known to be important carbon sinks with a capacity of 200-300
billion-ton (Pg) CO2 (Batjes and Sombroek, 1997). Even the smallest changes
in the carbon absorption inputs of pastures will lead to more extensive and
durable carbon capture (Scurlock and Hall, 1998).
The interaction between climate change and pasture biochemistry
attracts relatively less attention than forest areas in literature. Their effects on
temperatures, water and food have recently been understood relatively well,
but it has been possible to assess only the results of the interactions between
long-term CO2 fertilization and global carbon cycles (Hall and Scurlock,
1991). Pastures are usually seen as static areas. However, although seemingly
infertile and/or semi-decertified, the loss in carbon absorption of pastures can
be compensated through transforming marginal forest areas into wet/semi-
wet pastures, that is, potential carbon sinks. Therefore, different meadow-
pastures need different decisions of use according to their features (Schimel
et al, 1990; Thornley et al, 1991).
Meadows and pastures are major agents of global carbon cycle owing to
their underground carbon storage, seasonal burns and regrowth, and tree-
grass dynamics. Although their carbon storage, efficiency and cycle periods
are largely unspecified, based on current observations, it can be said that
pastures annually capture around 0,5 Pg of CO2. Due to climate change, and
the ensuing potential droughts, future absorption levels are uncertain, yet
through effective land management practices, this value is estimated to go
up to around –/+2 Pg CO2 (Scurlock and Hall, 1998).
US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) announced that in 2019, the world
total greenhouse gas emission reached an equivalent (eq.) of 6,558 million-ton
CO2. 10% of it thought to result from agricultural sector (EPA, 2021). Of the
agricultural sector-based emissions, 39% comes from enteric fermentation,
20% comes from animal-based fertilizers, 13% from artificial fertilizers, 10%
from wet-rice cultivation, 6% from fertilizer management, 5% from the burning
of agricultural waste in open areas, 4% from product remains, and 2% from
other reasons (FAO, 2018). It is known that the most important source of
nitrous oxide is (N2O) is the mineral fertilizers embedded in agricultural land.
According to IPCC (2015) reports, agricultural sector accounts for 12% of the
total anthropogenic emissions worldwide, 60% of the total N2O emissions,
and 50% of the total methane (CH4) emissions (Ağaçayak and Öztürk, 2017).
Especially in the last decade, greenhouse gas emissions based on
agricultural sector seem to have increased a great deal in Türkiye. According
to 1990-2019 Greenhouse gas emission statistics, the total gas emissions

134 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate,