Spatially explicit global assessment of cropland greenhouse gas emissions circa 2020
- Peiyu Cao
- Franco Bilotto
- Carlos Gonzalez Fischer
- Nathaniel D. Mueller
- Kimberly M. Carlson
- Avery W. Driscoll
- James S. Gerber
- Pete Smith
- Francesco N. Tubiello
- Paul C. West
- Liangzhi You
- Mario Herrero
2026-02-13
Spatially explicit cropland greenhouse gas emission data are essential for identifying emission hotspots and guiding sustainable mitigation strategies. Here we develop high-resolution (5 arcmin) global maps of cropland emissions across 46 crop classes in 2020 by integrating sectoral datasets on synthetic fertilizer, manure, crop residue, in-field burning, rice cultivation and cultivated drained peatlands. Global croplands emitted 2.5 (95% CI 2.4–2.7) GtCO 2 e yr −1 , with drained peatlands (35%), rice paddies (35%) and synthetic fertilizer (23%) as the primary contributors. Four crops—rice, maize, oil palm and wheat—accounted for 67% of total emissions. Emission areal intensities averaged 2 MgCO 2 e ha − 1 globally, with higher intensities in Asia and Europe, where croplands also achieved high caloric productivity. Spatial correlations between emission intensity and production efficiency reveal geographic trade-offs between mitigation potential and food production. The resulting dataset establishes a unified global framework for a spatially explicit assessment of agricultural emissions and efficiency.