Cereals role in carbon dioxide absorption in China and Poland

The chapter analyzes the annual amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorbed in and ground parts of the biomass of cereals cultivated in China and Poland, taking into account the specifics of the crops in these countries. Sequestration of atmospheric carbon into plants and soils is a way of partial compensation the anthropogenic emission of CO₂. This emission is still growing, since the beginning of Industrial Revolution, but the significant increase of carbon dioxide emission is observed since the 1960s, mainly due to enhancement of combustion of fossil fuels and cement production, also as the changes in land use. Changing the source of energy production, from fossil fuels to alternative fuels, e.g. biomass is considered as a fundamental condition for achieving this goal. But, an excessively one-sided approach of mitigating CO₂ emission from anthropogenic sources, focusing on limiting fossil fuel combustion, may slow down the economic development of many countries.