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Atmospheric chemistry

Burning domestic issues

Nature volume 423, pages 28–29 (2003)Cite this article

In the developing world much of the energy for heating, lighting and cooking comes from burning 'biomass', mainly wood. A first attempt has been made to quantify the resulting emissions to the atmosphere.

Almost a quarter-century ago, Paul Crutzen and colleagues1 published pioneering work showing how the burning of biomass produces emission of a whole variety of trace gases. Since then there has been a growing realization of the environmental significance of this source of gases, and of associated particulate material, and the effects range from the local through the regional to the global. Biomass burning also influences the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen compounds from the soil to the atmosphere.

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Figure 1

EARL & NAZIMA KOWALL/CORBIS

References

  1. Crutzen, P. J., Heidt, L. E., Krasnec, J. P., Pollock, W. H. & Seiler, W. Nature 282, 253–256 (1979).

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  2. Ludwig, J. et al. J. Atmos. Chem. 44, 23–37 (2003).

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  3. Crutzen, P. J. & Andreae, M. O. Science 250, 1669–1678 (1990).

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  4. Levine, J. S. (ed.) Biomass Burning and Global Change, Vols 1 and 2 (MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996).

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  1. the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, 23681, Virginia, USA

    Joel S. Levine

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  1. Joel S. Levine
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Correspondence to Joel S. Levine.

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Levine, J. Burning domestic issues. Nature 423, 28–29 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/423028a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/423028a

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