Potential agricultural soil carbon sequestration across Europe: a reality check

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonor Rodrigues ◽  
Brieuc Hardy ◽  
Bruno Huyghebaert ◽  
Jens Leifeld
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Reality Check

<p>To meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting average global warming to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, European Union (EU) aims to reduce by 40% its domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and in the longer term to become the world’s first climate-neutral economy by 2050 (“Green Deal”). Today, 10% of the European GHG emissions derive directly from agriculture, and measures to decrease or compensate these emissions are required for achieving climatic goals. The role of soils in the global carbon cycle and the importance of reducing GHG emissions from agriculture has been increasingly acknowledged (IPCC, 2018, EEA report 2019). The “4 per 1000” initiative (4p1000) has become a prominent model for mitigating climate change and securing food security through an annual increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks by 0.4 %, or 4‰ per year, in the first 0-40 cm of soil. However, the feasibility of the 4p1000 scenario and more generally the capacity of European countries to implement soil carbon sequestration (SCS) measures are highly uncertain.</p><p>As part of the EJP Soil project, we collected country-specific informationonon on the available knowledge and data of achievable carbon sequestration in mineral agricultural soils (cropland and grassland) across Europe, under various farming systems and pedo-climatic conditions. With this bottom-up approach, we provide a reality check on weather European countries are on track in relation to GHG reductions targets and the “4p1000” initiative. First results showed that the availability of datasets on SCS is heterogeneous across Europe. While northern Europe and central Europe is relatively well studied, references are lacking for parts of Southern, Southeaster and Western Europe. Further, this stocktake highlighted that the current country-based knowledge and engagement is still poor; very few countries have an idea on their national-wide achievable SCS potential. Nevertheless, national SCS potentials that were estimated for 13 countries support the view that SCS can contribute significantly to climate mitigation, covering from 1 to 28, 5 % of the domestic GHG emissions from the agricultural sector, which underpins the importance of further investigations.</p>

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

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.

scholarly journals Challenges of soil carbon sequestration in the NENA region

SOIL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talal Darwish ◽  
Thérèse Atallah ◽  
Ali Fadel
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Land Capability ◽  
The Status ◽  
Irrigated Crops ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The Near East North Africa (NENA) region spans over 14 % of the total surface of the Earth and hosts 10 % of its population. Soils of the NENA region are mostly highly vulnerable to degradation, and future food security will much depend on sustainable agricultural measures. Weather variability, drought and depleting vegetation are dominant causes of the decline in soil organic carbon (SOC). In this work the status of SOC was studied, using a land capability model and soil mapping. The land capability model showed that most NENA countries and territories (17 out of 20) suffer from low productive lands (> 80 %). Stocks of SOC were mapped (1:5 000 000) in topsoils (0–0.30 m) and subsoils (0.30–1 m). The maps showed that 69 % of soil resources are shown to have a stock of SOC below the threshold of 30 tons ha−1. The stocks varied between ≈10 tons ha−1 in shrublands and 60 tons ha−1 for evergreen forests. Highest stocks were found in forests, irrigated crops, mixed orchards and saline flooded vegetation. The stocks of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) were higher than those of SOC. In subsoils, the SIC ranged between 25 and 450 tons ha−1, against 20 to 45 tons ha−1 for SOC. Results highlight the contribution of the NENA region to global SOC stock in the topsoil (4.1 %). The paper also discusses agricultural practices that are favorable to carbon sequestration such as organic amendment, no till or minimum tillage, crop rotation and mulching and the constraints caused by geomorphological and climatic conditions. The effects of crop rotations on SOC are related to the amounts of above and belowground biomass produced and retained in the system. Some knowledge gaps exist, especially in aspects related to the impact of climate change and effect of irrigation on SOC, and on SIC at the level of the soil profile and soil landscape. Still, major constraints facing soil carbon sequestration are policy-relevant and socioeconomic in nature, rather than scientific.

scholarly journals Towards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Towards an EU Regulatory Framework for Climate-Smart Agriculture: The Example of Soil Carbon Sequestration

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Verschuuren
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Smart Agriculture

AbstractThis article assesses current and proposed European Union (EU) climate and environmental law, and the legal instruments associated with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to see whether soil carbon sequestration is sufficiently promoted as a promising example of ‘climate-smart agriculture’. The assessment shows that current and proposed policies and instruments are inadequate to stimulate large-scale adoption of soil carbon projects across Europe. Given the identified structural flaws, it is likely that this is true for all climate-smart agricultural practices. An alternative approach needs to be developed. Under EU climate policy, agriculture should be included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by allowing regulated industries to buy offsets from the agricultural sector, following the examples set by Australia and others. The second element of a new approach is aimed at the CAP, which needs to be far more focused on the specific requirements of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Yet, such stronger focus does not take away the need to explore new income streams for farmers from offsets under the ETS, as the CAP will never have sufficient funds for the deep and full transition of Europe’s agriculture sector that is needed.

scholarly journals The greenhouse gas impacts of converting food production in England and Wales to organic methods

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence G. Smith ◽  
Guy J. D. Kirk ◽  
Philip J. Jones ◽  
Adrian G. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Farm Inputs

Abstract Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and must feature in efforts to reduce emissions. Organic farming might contribute to this through decreased use of farm inputs and increased soil carbon sequestration, but it might also exacerbate emissions through greater food production elsewhere to make up for lower organic yields. To date there has been no rigorous assessment of this potential at national scales. Here we assess the consequences for net GHG emissions of a 100% shift to organic food production in England and Wales using life-cycle assessment. We predict major shortfalls in production of most agricultural products against a conventional baseline. Direct GHG emissions are reduced with organic farming, but when increased overseas land use to compensate for shortfalls in domestic supply are factored in, net emissions are greater. Enhanced soil carbon sequestration could offset only a small part of the higher overseas emissions.

scholarly journals Large-scale deployment of in-rotation grass cultivation as a multifunctional soil climate mitigation strategy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Englund ◽  
Blas Mola-Yudego ◽  
Pål Börjesson ◽  
Göran Berndes ◽  
Christel Cederberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Nitrogen Emissions

The agricultural sector can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequestering atmospheric carbon in vegetation and soils, and by providing biomass for substituting fossil fuels and other GHG intensive products in the energy, industry and transport sectors. New policies at EU level provide incentives for more sustainable land use practices, for example, cultivation systems using perennial plants that provide biomass for food, bioenergy and other biobased products along with land carbon sequestration and other environmental benefits. Based on spatial modelling across more than 81,000 landscapes in Europe, we find that introduction of grass-clover leys into rotations with annual crops could result in soil organic carbon sequestration corresponding to 5-10% of total current GHG emissions from agriculture in EU27+UK, annually until 2050. The combined annual GHG savings from soil carbon sequestration and use of biogas produced in connection to grass-based biorefineries equals 13-48% of current GHG emissions from agriculture. The assessed environmental co-benefits (reduced wind and water erosion, reduced nitrogen emissions to water, and mitigation of impacts associated with flooding) are considerable. Besides policy instruments, new markets for grass biomass, e.g., as feedstock for producing biofuels and protein concentrate, can incentivize widespread deployment of in-rotation grass cultivation.

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