Abstract

Vegetable is the second largest crop with its planting area preceded only by grain. In recent years, the facilities and intensification of vegetable production have been deepening year after year in China. As a result, intensive investment of chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and plastic sheeting significantly increased vegetables yield while also generated a lot of carbon emissions, which caused a serious threat to the ecosystem environment of farmland. Therefore, it is of significance for“two types of agriculture”development and food quality safety in our country to explore the low-carbon development path of vegetable production.

For existing studies on carbon footprint, low-carbon as well as ecological compensation in vegetable production is too few, this book systematically studied on the low-carbon development path of vegetables production combined with carbon footprint, low-carbon and ecological compensation mechanism. Based on defining and combing the relative concepts and theories, the author firstly measured and evaluated the carbon footprint of vegetable production system used life cycleassessment (LCA) andmulti-objectivegreytargetdecision model. Secondly, the author analyzed on the marginal effect and driving factors of the low-carbon vegetable production, as well as the vegetable growers’adopting behavior and willingness to pay (WTP) of low-carbon production technologies respectively using the environmental directional distance function, simultaneous equations with seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) model, Multivariate Probit model and Cox’proportional hazard model. Lastly, the author built the ecological compensation mechanism of the low-carbon vegetable production in terms of compensation subject, compensation standard as well as compensation mode.

The main conclusions are as follows:

Firstly, the study results of carbon footprint from vegetable production system show that the total carbon emissions of vegetables production system is 691.64 kgce per Mu, in which the fertilizer inputs account for 70.89% and is the primary cause of carbon emission. Meanwhile, the photosynthesis carbon sinks and the net carbon sinks are 1267.20 kgce and 575.56 kgce per Mu respectively. According to the comprehensive evaluation result, Beijing and Tianjin are far better than Hebei, Liaoning and Shandong provinces.

Secondly, the study results of marginal effect of low carbon vegetable production show that the average marginal outputs effect and the shadow price of the carbon emissions in vegetable production are 2.03 kg/kgce and 5.94 Yuan/kgce respectively. The average environment cost is 4521.15 Yuan/Mu, which accounts for 14.49% of the total output value. After excluding environmental cost, the green yield value is 25468.77 Yuan/Mu.

Thirdly, the study results of driving factors of low carbon vegetable production show that the technology choices, government subsidies, gender-headed, age-headed and the rate of vegetables income have significant positive effect on the low-carbon vegetable production, while the land input is negatively correlated with the low-carbon vegetables production.

Fourthly, the study results of farmers adopting low-carbon production technologies in vegetable production show that there is substitution effect when the vegetable growers adopt some low-carbon production technologies simultaneously. Besides, the factors such as awareness of sustainable agriculture as well as low-carbon agriculture, effect satisfaction of low-carbon production technology, vegetable growing area, whether to join the facility insurance, government subsidies, age-headed, education level, technical training and the years of planting vegetables have significant positive influence on farmers adopting low-carbon production technologies. Meanwhile the factors such as loan demand, gender-headed have significant negative influence on farmers adopting low-carbon production technologies.

Fifthly, the study results of farmers’willingness to pay for adopting low-carbon production technologies in vegetable production show that the willingness to pay on low-carbon production technologies of vegetable growers is low. And the factors such as gender-headed, vegetable income, availability of credit, years of planting vegetables, risk preference of new technology, whether to join vegetable cooperative have significant positive influence on the willingness to pay for low-carbon production technologies of farmers. Meanwhile the factors such as age-headed, vegetables revenue share, government subsidies, and technical training have significant negative influence on the willingness to pay for low-carbon production technologies of farmers.

Sixthly, the study results of ecological compensation mechanism of low carbon vegetable production show that the right body is vegetable growers meanwhile the obligation body is government. The average ecological compensation standard of carbon sink is 34.53 Yuan/Mu, and the compensation mode should be government-led with market-supplement during the carbon sink ecological compensation mechanism of facility vegetable production system.

Key Words: carbon emissions, carbon sinks, carbon efficiency, ecological compensation, vegetables