- Land use changes in the Douro Valley and carbon emissions   click here to open paper content828 kb
by    Lourenco, Julia M. & Pereira, Nuno & Ramos, Luís | jloure@civil.uminho.pt   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
When urban sprawl occurs through the replacement of forested areas by urban uses, the ability to sequester carbon dioxide is reduced while its production rates increase. Urban uses and vineyards have been growing in Douro.
Abstract
In the Douro Valley, the dominance of vineyards and forestry uses over urban occupation is the norm. However, when urban sprawl occurs through the replacement of forested areas by urban uses, the ability to sequester carbon dioxide is reduced while its production rates increase. A thorough study (Lourenço et al., 2008) of land uses evolution between 1990 and 2000, shows that urban uses have been growing near Vila Real as well as vineyard plantations. Forest fires and a complex topography are major causes for the growth of abandoned areas which make these areas more prone to erosion and desertification.
Deforestation for economic development and urbanisation or urban sprawl as a result of human population growth is a common feature of land-use change and is an important source of increased atmospheric CO2. At the global level, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are two to three times higher than carbon sequestration by land systems, mainly forests and woody vegetation. The rate of urban sprawl in north-central Indiana in a study (Shao et al., 2008).for the Midwestern USA between 1940 and 1998 showed that the overall effects of the land-use change have led to the region becoming an increasing source of CO2 in the past half-century. If measures such as forestation of marginal agricultural land, improved soil/crop management practices, and use of renewable energy in the region are taken, the gap between CO2 emissions and carbon sequestration could be narrowed from 214 to 71 t C/km(2)/y.
Balancing the global carbon budget would require many approaches at local scales.
Keywords
land uses; carbon emissions; Douro Region
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