Managing tree-crops for climate mitigation. An economic evaluation trading-off carbon sequestration with market goods

There is a continuing debate over the role that woody bioenergy plays in climate mitigation. This paper clarifies this controversy and illustrates the impacts of woody biomass demand on forest harvests, prices, timber management investments and intensity, forest area, and the resulting carbon balance under different climate mitigation policies. Increased bioenergy demand increases forest carbon stocks thanks to afforestation activities and more intensive management relative to a no-bioenergy case. Some natural forests, however, are converted to more intensive management, with potential biodiversity losses. Incentivizing both wood-based bioenergy and forest sequestration could increase carbon sequestration and conserve natural forests simultaneously. We conclude that the expanded use of wood for bioenergy will result in net carbon benefits, but an efficient policy also needs to regulate forest carbon sequestration.

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Effects of Temporal Variation in Long-Term Cultivation on Organic Carbon Sequestration in Calcareous Soils: Nile Delta, Egypt

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12114514 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 4514

Author(s):

Manal Alnaimy ◽

Martina Zelenakova ◽

Zuzana Vranayova ◽

Mohamed Abu-Hashim

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Nile Delta ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Main Role ◽

Virgin Soil ◽

Logarithmic Curve ◽

Sequestration Potential

Soil carbon sequestration is a riskier long-term strategy for climate mitigation than direct emissions reduction, but it plays a main role in closing carbon emission gaps. Effects of long-term cultivation on soil carbon sequestration were studied at the western edge of the Nile Delta near Alexandria, Egypt. Seven agricultural fields of different ages (0–50 years in use) were selected and compared with the surrounding desert (virgin soil) and desert shrub-land. Samples were taken at three horizons, 0–30, 30–60, and 60–90 cm, and tested for differences in physical and chemical properties. The results of long-term cultivation reveal that the European Commission (EC) value was 11.77 dS/m in virgin soil, while the EC values decreased to 5.82, 4.23, 3.74, 2.40, and 2.26 dS/m after 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 years of cultivation, respectively. The calcareous rock fraction smaller than 50 μm in size revealed another phenomenon, where active calcium carbonate content increased with cultivation practices from 1.15% (virgin soil) to 5.42%, 6.47%, 8.38%, and 10.13% after 5, 10, 20, and 30 years of cultivation, respectively, while shrub-land also showed a low amount of active CaCO3 with 1.38%. In fifty years of cultivation, soil bulk density decreased significantly from 1.67 to 1.11 g/cm3, and it decreased to 1.65, 1.44, 1.40, and 1.25 g/cm3 after 5, 10, 20, and 30 years, respectively. These results reveal that the increase in soil carbon stock in the upper 90 cm amounted to 41.02 t C/ha after five years of cultivation, compared to virgin soil with 13.47 t C/ha. Soil carbon levels increased steeply during the five years of cultivation, with an average rate of 8.20 t C/ha per year in the upper 90 cm. After the first five years of cultivation, the carbon sequestration rate slowed, reaching 4.68, 3.77, 2.58, and 1.93 t C/ha per year after 10, 20, 30, and 50 years, respectively, resulting in sequestration-potential values of 46.78, 75.63, 77.43, and 96.45 t C/ha. These results indicate that potential soil carbon sequestration resembles a logarithmic curve until the equilibrium state between carbon application and decomposition by microorganisms is reached.

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Correction for Amundson and Biardeau, Opinion: Soil carbon sequestration is an elusive climate mitigation tool

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1908917116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (26) ◽

pp. 13143-13143 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Climate Mitigation

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Ecological engineering for climate mitigation and adaptation—a case study for the North West Shelf

The APPEA Journal ◽

10.1071/aj10065 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 685

Author(s):

Peter Wheen ◽

Shaun Kim ◽

Martin Lawrence ◽

John Ridley

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Carbon Sink ◽

Ecological Engineering ◽

Commercial Application ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Surface Zone ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Marine Productivity

This paper introduces the Australian-developed Ocean Nourishment technology, as well as the science, its regulation, and its potential commercial application for the North West Shelf. Ocean nourishment is a form of ecological engineering, designed to transfer carbon from the ocean's sunlit surface zone to the largest carbon sink on the planet: the ocean. It is a scaleable and economical form of bio-mimicry; simulating the ocean's natural biological processes. Nourishing the surface ocean with macronutrients increases the movement of atmospheric CO2 into the deep-ocean carbon store. Short lifecycle microscopic plants—which are prolific carbon consumers—use sunlight to process the added nutrients. This additional marine productivity leads to reduced CO2 levels in both the upper ocean and in the atmosphere. Dispersing nitrogen alone allows the potential long-term (1,000 years) removal of one tenth (0.8 Gt carbon/annum) of present anthropogenic emissions. In addition to carbon sequestration, there is a desirable by-product of the process. The increased marine productivity will lead to increased fish stocks, which will assist in feeding the world's human population. Individual licensed sites would be capable of sequestering 5–8 Mt of CO2 at $25–35 per tonne. This is estimated to produce an additional harvest of 300,000 tonnes of fish each year. The path to commercialisation for such a promising technology with global reach and untried application requires focussed scientific application. Establishing revenue streams for carbon sequestration or fisheries enhancement is complex. International regulation is being addressed by the LondonConvention/London Protocol of the International Maritime Organisation.

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Soil Carbon Sequestration as an Elusive Climate Mitigation Tool

No-till Farming Systems for Sustainable Agriculture ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-46409-7_20 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 337-353

Author(s):

Brian Murphy

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Climate Mitigation

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Towards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-18887-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

W. Amelung ◽

D. Bossio ◽

W. de Vries ◽

I. Kögel-Knabner ◽

J. Lehmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Global Scale ◽

Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Management Options ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Local Soil ◽

Carbon Losses

Abstract Sustainable soil carbon sequestration practices need to be rapidly scaled up and implemented to contribute to climate change mitigation. We highlight that the major potential for carbon sequestration is in cropland soils, especially those with large yield gaps and/or large historic soil organic carbon losses. The implementation of soil carbon sequestration measures requires a diverse set of options, each adapted to local soil conditions and management opportunities, and accounting for site-specific trade-offs. We propose the establishment of a soil information system containing localised information on soil group, degradation status, crop yield gap, and the associated carbon-sequestration potentials, as well as the provision of incentives and policies to translate management options into region- and soil-specific practices.

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Hydroponic fodder and greenhouse gas emissions: a potential avenue for climate mitigation strategy and policy development

FACETS ◽

10.1139/facets-2020-0066 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 334-357

Author(s):

Robert Newell ◽

Lenore Newman ◽

Mathew Dickson ◽

Bill Vanderkooi ◽

Tim Fernback ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Policy Development ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

No Tillage ◽

Sequestration Potential ◽

Hydroponic Systems

This research explores the potential hydroponic systems have for contributing to climate mitigation in fodder agriculture. Using British Columbia (BC) and Alberta as case studies, the study compares greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration potential of hydroponically grown sprouted barley fodder to conventional barley grain fodder. GHG emissions were examined through scenarios that assumed Alberta to be the main barley producer, while exploring different situations of BC and Alberta as consumers, distributed/centralized hydroponic systems, and renewable/nonrenewable energy. Carbon sequestration opportunities were examined through scenarios that explored the land sparing potential of transitioning from conventional to hydroponic barley and shifts from tillage to no-tillage practices. Sensitivity analyses were done to examine how changes in hydroponic seed-to-fodder output and energy consumption affect the systems’ climate mitigation potential. The results indicated that incorporating hydroponic systems into barley production has the potential to reduce GHG emissions, given seed-to-fodder output and energy consumption are maintained at certain levels and the systems are powered by renewable energy. Results also showed that hydroponic farming can provide greater carbon sequestration opportunities than simply shifting to no-tillage farming. The research indicates that hydroponic fodder farming could contribute to climate mitigation objectives if complemented with effective energy and land use policies.

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The Link Between Habitats and Carbon Accumulation from Natural Forest Regrowth in Borino Municipality (Southern Bulgaria)

Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports ◽

10.2478/ceer-2021-0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 182-191

Author(s):

Borislav Grigorov

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Natural Forest ◽

Carbon Accumulation ◽

Carbon Pools ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Forest Regrowth ◽

Grassland Habitats ◽

Research Show

Abstract Carbon accumulation in forests is an important step towards achieving better climate mitigation levels. The current research aims at uncovering the link between the NATURA 2000 habitats in Borino Municipality, Southern Bulgaria and the expected carbon sequestration from natural forest regrowth for the period 2020-2050. The case study area currently is of a predominantly mountainous character with a number of forests – a prerequisite for enlargement of the carbon pools. Nevertheless, there are also grassland habitats, which participate in this process as well. The results of the research show that the southern parts of the municipality possess a larger potential for carbon accumulation with levels, reaching 1.10 and 1.28Mg C ha−1 yr−1. The promising outcomes may be used as an example of an investigation of climate mitigation and may serve as a basis for broadening the geographical range in other municipalities in the region.

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