BASIC STRUCTURE OF CO2 EMISSION MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

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BASIC STRUCTURE OF CO2 EMISSION MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE IN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE
7th Alps-Adria Scientific Workshop, Stará Lesná
30/04/2008

• Csaba FOGARASSY A., LUKÁCS M., BÖRÖCZ
• Research Group of Biomass Economics,
• Institute of Regional Economics and Rural
  Development, Szent Istvan University

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Introduction

• Our paper concentrates on CO2, discussing its
  agricultural sources and the possibilities to
  minimize their harmful emissions. Besides
  source-related emissions reductions, agriculture
  is also expected to help slowing down the CO2
  increase in the atmosphere by sequestering part
  of it in soil organic matter and by producing
  suitable biomass material.

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Agricultural practice in EU

• Half of the European Union's land is farmed. This
  fact alone highlights the importance of farming
  for the EU's natural environment. Farming and
  nature exercise a profound influence over each
  other. Farming has contributed over the centuries
  to create and maintain a variety of valuable
  semi-natural habitats.
• Today these shape the majority of the EU's
  landscapes and are home to many of the EU's
  richest wildlife. Farming also supports a diverse
  rural community that is not only a fundamental
  asset of European culture, but also plays an
  essential role in maintaining the environment in
  a healthy state.
• Pollution of soil, water and air, fragmentation
  of habitats and loss of wildlife can be the
  result of inappropriate agricultural practices
  and land use.
• Agriculture is a source for three primary
  greenhouse gases (GHGs), CH4 , N2O and CO2.

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Reduction potential

• The GHG emissions from this sector decreased by
  11 from 1990 to 2005. In 2005, the emissions
  decreased by 1,4 compared to 2004. The lower
  N2O emissions come from agricultural soils (-4,0
  million tonnes) mainly in Spain, Italy and
  Germany.
• The reduction from N2O emissions from
  agricultural soils is partly due to a reduction
  in synthetic fertilizer use in Spain and Italy,
  and the reduction of the use of nitrogen fixing
  crops in Germany.

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Greatest contributions

• The agriculture contributes 9 to the total
  EU-15 GHG emissions (USA 6,3 ), making a
  second largest sector after the sector energy.
  The most important GHGs from agriculture are N2O
  (5) and CH4 (4).
• Application of nitrogenous fertilizer and
  cropping practices are estimated to cause 63 of
  the total N2O emission in the European Union. In
  the United States, it was estimated about 78 .
• The greatest contributions to CH4 emissions are
  enteric fermentation (21) and manure management
  (8) with minor contributions from rice paddies
  and agricultural burning (US EPA, 2007).

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Sequestration of Carbon

• Sequestration of Carbon from biomass into soil
  organic matter is a key sequestration pathway in
  agriculture. Within a given soil and climatic
  regime a linear relationship exists between
  biomass Carbon inputs and soil organic matter.
• The collateral soil carbon sequestration benefits
  on improved soil quality, increased soil
  productivity, reduced risk of soil erosion and
  sedimentation, decreased eutrophication and water
  contamination.

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Increasing the level of organic matter inputs

• increasing crop productivity, e.g. by
  fertilization
• diversified crop rotation, higher cropping
  frequency
• enhanced return of crop residues, green manure
  crops
• increased use of organic amendments, inclusion
  of perennial forage crops
• cropping of deep-rooted tropical grasses, use
  of winter cover crops
• improved irrigation
• agroforestry

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Decreasing the rates of soil organic matter
decomposition

• reduced soil tillage intensity
• mulch farming technologies
• control of soil erosion
• reducing bare fallow periods.

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Results

• According to the experimental data, the changes
  in soil Carbon should be below 30 cm, and
  preferably throughout the rooting zone. In a
  review of long-term cropping studies, the impact
  of no-tillage management on Carbon
  sequestration and global warming potential (GWP)
  was significant at the end of 20 years, but not
  earlier.
• The summary of these results suggest that Carbon
  sequestration due to no-tillage or
  conservation/reduced tillage depends on depth of
  soil sampling, crop management, and duration of
  continuous low-intensity tillage system.
• There are many benefits in reducing tillage
  beyond Carbon sequestration.

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Conclusions

• Technology is rapidly advancing to utilize crop
  biomass, perennial grasses, woody perennials and
  forest products for the production of ethanol via
  a cellulosic platform and/or utilizing pyrolysis
  to generate syngas and other products/co-products.
  
• As the new technology is developing, it is
  important to avoid negative environmental
  consequences such as accelerated soil erosion or
  loss of soil organic content.
• Many estimates on the amount of crop biomass that
  can be harvested are based primarily on erosion
  risks.

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Practical results

• New agricultural CO2 emission management
  practices that promote good land stewardship
  appear to minimize or reduce GWP.
• Such practices include reducing tillage, which
  helps prevent soil erosion and has the potential
  to increase soil organic content and may enhance
  CH4 consumption, even though in some instances it
  may be partially offset by N2O emission and
  eliminating fallow and keeping the soil covered
  with residue, cover crops or perennial
  vegetation, which have the potential to increase
  soil organic content.

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Thanks for your attention!
7th Alps-Adria Scientific Workshop, Stará Lesná
30/04/2008

• csaba.fogarassy_at_gtk.szie.hu