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Page AGRICULTURE
AND FORESTRY PROGRAMS
Carbon
sequestration will
play a critical role in helping the world meet the challenge of climate change.
Recently, there has been an intensified focus on and greater understanding of
how agriculture and forestry practices can greatly affect the ability of
farmland and forests to sequester carbon and help mitigate climate change
effects. As a result, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun to analyze the net carbon effects of
its various conservation and environmental programs and to determine how they
can be enhanced and expanded to foster greater sequestration.
What
is soil carbon sequestration?
Atmospheric
concentrations of carbon dioxide can be lowered either by reducing emissions or
by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing in it terrestrial,
oceanic, or freshwater aquatic ecosystems.
The long‑term conversion of grassland and forestland to cropland
has resulted in historic losses of soil carbon worldwide but there is a major
potential for increasing soil carbon through restoration of degraded soils and
widespread adoption of soil conservation practices.
What
agricultural and forestry activities sequester carbon?
Soil conservation
practices not only reduce soil erosion but also increase the organic matter
content of soils. Principal conservation strategies, which sequester carbon,
include converting marginal lands to compatible land use systems, restoring
degraded soils, and adopting best management practices. For example, removing
agriculturally marginal land from production and adopting an ecologically
compatible land use, such as wildlife habitat, can lead to increases in total
biomass production and an increase in carbon content in the soil.
USDA programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), the Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP), Forestry Incentives Program (FIP) and the Secretary's conservation buffer strip initiative all help increase soil organic carbon Also important are various strategies for sustainable management of the soil, such as: (1) conservation tillage: (2) management of crop residue and application of organic materials and manures; (3) soil fertility optimization through site specific management; (4) elimination of summer (bare) fallow; (5) use of winter cover crops and rotations; and (6) other techniques that may improve crop yields and reduce on‑site and off‑site production risks.
How
much carbon could actually be sequestered though these activities?
The total carbon sequestration
and fossil fuel offset potential of U.S. cropland is estimated 154 million
metric tons of carbon per year or 133 percent of the total emissions of
greenhouse gases by agricultural and forestry activities. While our lands can be
managed to increase carbon storage, the increase can only temporarily offset
greenhouse gas emissions.
Is
sequestering carbon compatible with other environmental goals important to
agriculture?
Yes. Conservation programs
utilizing conservation practices are being used by landowners, which represent a
multifaceted opportunity in light of climate change.
Adoption of appropriate conservation strategies lead to: (1) carbon
sequestration in soil; (2) improving soil quality by raising productivity and
contributing to sustainable land use; and (3) enhancement of overall
environmental quality through improved wildlife habitat, higher water quality
and erosion reduction.
What
are we doing to better understand soil sequestration?
We
will be conducting an informal/informational meeting to gather data (land use,
crop rotations, and crops by soil associations) in order to determine/predict
the present and future amount of carbon that can be sequestered in the soil by
agriculture.