Abstract
Burning agricultural straw before and/or after harvest is a common farming practice. Regional and extensive agricultural open field straw burning can cause serious air pollution events. This paper looks at the effects of biomass burning emission on regional haze that should be considered in the forecasting of regional haze. It describes the current state of crop residue burning in China, and analyzes the relationship between biomass burning and regional haze in terms of temporal/spatial patterns and chemical composition. Finally, some suggestions/recommendations are proposed for the recycling of agricultural straw to reduce the impact of biomass burning on regional haze and air quality. We suggest that prescribed open burning would be a more suitable solution in China. We hope that this report about biomass burning and regional haze will bring the issue to the attention of governments and other researchers.
Highlights
Biomass burning is a long-standing agricultural practice, but increasing population and demand for agricultural land and food has had a profound effect on the extent of biomass burning
We review our present understanding about biomass burning and regional haze status in China in the past few years; discuss the relationship between biomass burning and regional haze in terms of spatio-temporal patterns and chemical composition; and provided some suggestions for reducing the effect of biomass burning on regional haze
Especially agricultural burning has an important impact on regional air quality
Summary
Biomass burning is a long-standing agricultural practice, but increasing population and demand for agricultural land and food has had a profound effect on the extent of biomass burning. Compared with statistical data, satellite data overestimate forest burning and underestimate crop residual biomass burning [2], because most biofuel is burned indoors and open field burning of small area is not detected by satellite [2]. Liu et al [11] estimated emissions from crop burning in fields across the North China Plain using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) FRP. Their results were consistent with a previous study adopting an agricultural statistical approach [17], but significantly higher than emissions derived from the MODIS burned area product and Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 3.1 (GFEDv3.1, ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, TN, USA), respectively.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
