Beauty and it's green house gases - a photo on Flickriver

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One of the most destructive farming practices was slash and burn, which was deforestation. Man’s agricultural activity could have caused climate change over 5000 years ago. These practices released large amounts of green house gases. Though they can't be compare with today's emissions but were large enough to increase the temperature by few Fahrenheit. Another destructive practice has been growing methane-bubbling crops. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas; 23 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide CO2. Rice paddy fields are one of the major contributors of methane today. Rice was grown in large quantities even then so there must have been sufficient levels of methane, which could originate a possibility of climate change, thousands of years ago. William Ruddiman, a scientist who strongly believes man caused climate change several centuries ago. How? The practice of slash and burn made it possible. Man burnt down large area of forest covers and then used as his farm. Man shifted when his land productivity decreased as there was no need for people to take up efficient methods of cultivation. Land was present in excess so they were constantly on a move. It was later when population increased to a large number, the pressure to have high yields in lesser amount of land rose. Ruddiman examined the air bubbles, trapped in polar ice 5000 years ago, and found unexpected increases in carbon dioxide and methane. World methane production due to paddy fields has been estimated to be in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes per annum. This level of greenhouse gas generation is a large component of the global warming threat produced from an expanding human population. But there's hope, recent studies have shown that methane can be significantly reduced while also boosting crop yield by draining the paddies allowing the soil to aerate, which interrupts methane production. German Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, identified a group of microbes that play a big role in producing these emissions. The microbes absorb carbon released by the plants roots and use it to make methane, which is then released into the soil and emitted from there into the atmosphere. Until now, nobody knew which specific microbes were responsible for this process. More study is needed.

Despite Laos small population, undeveloped mineral deposits, and forest covering nearly 70 percent of the country, Lao's forests are threatened. Slash-and-burn agriculture, uncontrolled fires, commercial and illegal logging, and fuelwood collection resulted in the loss of 6.8 percent of the country's forests between 1990 and 2005. The deforestation rate has increased moderately since the close of the 1990s, but there is concern that the shift from a command economy toward a market-oriented economy will put increasing pressure on the forest resources of Laos. Despite these hurdles, there is hope for conservation in Laos. In an effort to protect the country's species richness, Laos recently established 18 National Biodiversity Conservation Areas including one known as Nakai Nam Theum National Biodiversity Area in the mountainous border area near Vietnam. During the 1990s researchers in this protected area discovered a new genus of cattle-like mammal along with two deer-like species. Photo of paddy fields taken on Don Khong island in the Mekong river.

Methaan: bekend van de gaskraan en scheikundeles, chemische formule CH4. Aardgas en moerasgas bestaan voor het grootste deel uit methaan. Methaan is een broeikasgas, het draagt net als koolzuurgas CO2 bij aan de opwarming van de aarde. Methaan is ruwweg 23 x zo effectief als koolzuurgas, het meest bekende broeikasgas. Omdat de CO2-concentratie in de atmosfeer echter nog vele malen hoger is dan die van methaan is CO2 toch het belangrijkste broeikasgas. Bovendien zet methaan in de lucht na verloop van tijd door oxidatie zelf om in CO2. De landbouw is een van de belangrijke producenten van methaan. Zo wordt in de spijsvertering van koeien veel methaan geproduceerd, net als in de bodem van natte rijstvelden. Methaan ontstaat ook op stortplaatsen van afval, wanneer de afbraakprocessen van dode biomassa onder zuurstofloze omstandigheden plaatsvinden. Dit gebeurt ook in de natuur. Er wordt dan vaak gesproken van moerasgas. Net als CO2 neemt het de laatste eeuw sterk toe in de atmosfeer, deels door menselijk toedoen. Gaslekken en de landbouw zijn belangrijke methaanbronnen. Veel methaan komt uit rijstvelden, dat zijn eigenlijk kunstmatige moerassen. Van nature ontstaat moerasgas doordat bacterien organische stof - bijvoorbeeld resten van dode planten - verteren. Dat gebeurt alleen onder strikt zuurstofloze omstandigheden, zoals die in een met water verzadigde moerasbodem heersen. Vooral in het Noorden van Rusland, Siberie, Canada en Alaska strekken zich gigantische moerasgebieden uit. Deze moerasgebieden produceren ook grote hoeveelheden moerasgas of methaan. Vorming van moerasgas is sterk gevoelig voor warmte: methaan bacterien produceren meer methaan bij een lekker temperatuurtje. Dat betekent dat de opwarming van de aarde door het broeikaseffect zou kunnen leiden tot meer methaan, dus meer meer broeikaseffect, nog hogere temperaturen, nog meer methaan..... enzovoort. Een zichzelf versterkende, positieve terugkoppeling in het broekaseffect. De wereldbevolking blijft groeien en zal zich moeten voeden: dat betekent steeds meer rijst verbouwen. Maar er is hoop, volgens German Max-Planck-Institute er is een biologische manier om het broeikasgas van methaan af te breken namelijk via bacteriën. Door middel van de rijstvelden te bemesten met stikstof. De mest stimuleert namelijk methaan-etende bacteriën. Deze bacteriën zijn trouwens ook in staat zijn om allerlei verontreinigingen in bodem of water op te ruimen. Belangrijke beestjes kortom. Maar meer studie is nodig.

Taken in: Laos / Champasak / Muang Khong (show map)

Taken on: July 21, 2009

Tags:

Green house gases

emissions

Slash and burn

destructive farming practices

deforestation

Methane-bubbling crops

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas

rice paddy fields

climate change

Carbon dioxide

Global warming threat

Expanding human population

More rice fields

German Max-Planck-Institute

reducing Methane by draining paddy fields

allowing the aoil to aerate

microbes absorb carbon

National Biodiversity Conservation Areas

Don Khong

rice cutivation

Southern Laos

4000 islands in the Mekong

Island in the Mekong

major wet-rice fields

Green rice fields

Paddy fields

Women working in the paddy fields

Rice farming

lowlands

agriculture

pace of life

Loa people

Lao women at work

farming women in Laos have a substantial role

Transplanting of rice

Weeding

harvesting

Chinese bamboo hat

Women in the paddy fields

Woman farmer

Lao people

Day workers

Farmer

Poverty

Hard work

Hard working farmer

Laos countryside

lovely lao lady working in the paddy fields

Bamboo hat

academia hispanoparlante de autodidactas

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Camera: Panasonic DMC-LX3, f/5.0, 1/1000 sec, 12.8mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-LX3
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length:	12.8mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	-0.66 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Landscape
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Paint Shop Pro Photo 12,01
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