Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from burning crop residues consist of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) gases produced by the combustion of a percentage of crop residues burnt on-site.

The mass of fuel available for burning should be estimated taking into account the fractions removed before burning due to animal consumption, decay in the field, and use in other sectors (e.g., biofuel, domestic livestock feed, building materials, etc.). FAOSTAT emission estimates are computed at Tier 1 following the IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National GHG Inventories (http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol4.html).

GHG emissions are provided by country, reguions and special groups, with global coverage, relative to the period 1961-present (with annual updates) and with projections for 2030 and 2050, expressed both as Gg CH4, Gg N2O, Gg CO2eq and CO2eq from CH4 and N2O, by crop (maize, rice, sugarcane and wheat) and by aggregates.

Implied emission factors for N2O and CH4 as well activity data (biomass burned) are also provided.