Aquaculture, as the fastest-growing food production sector in the world, is becoming an increasingly nonnegligible source of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, there has been limited research on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from marine aquaculture in China, where more marine aquaculture occurs than anywhere else, globally. We estimated N2O emissions (E) from marine mariculture of 10 fish and 6 crustacean species in China from 2003 to 2022 using production data from the China Fishery Statistical Yearbook (2004–2023), and data for feed conversion rates and types from the literature. From 2003, marine aquaculture production, the annual N2O emissions (EA), and the annual N2O emissions per unit of aquaculture area (EIA) trend upward. The EA of fish culture was lower than that of crustaceans, but the EIA of fish culture was generally higher. Sea bass (0.308 Tg/a, in terms of N) and white shrimp (0.945 Tg/a, in terms of N) had the highest average EA among fish and crustacean cultures, respectively. The highest average EA from fish and crustacean were both Guangdong Province (fish: 0.248 Tg, crustacean: 0.547 Tg), and the highest sea area were both the South China Sea (fish: 0.316 Tg, crustacean: 1.082 Tg); the highest average EIA for fish and crustacean were Tianjin City [35.40 t/(hm2·a)] and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region [19.83 t/(hm2·a)], respectively, and the highest sea areas were both the South China Sea (fish: 0.316 Tg, crustacean: 1.082 Tg). These analyses provide baseline data for a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for China, based on an interpretation of them, we provide recommendations for reducing N2O emissions in marine fish and crustacean culture.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |