Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet. Introduction Farmers in the Philippines did a lot of works on their environment lately. By growing crops, they.

Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet

Introduction Farmers in the Philippines did a lot of works on their

environment lately. By growing crops, they caused erosion. They also boost food production and income. Their actions have some negatives consequences on their

surroundings too. But overall, this human activities have been more useful to the

planet. In fact, their actions not only enriched landscapes, but also

helped to “cool” the planet. By cutting greenhouse emission and storing carbon soils and

vegetation. In the other hand, climate change and global food security are

technically linked. The resources are limited, but the population is increasing

exponentially. Finally, degradation and loss of forests and other vegetative

cover puts the carbon cycle further off balance.

CONTINUED…

How could agriculture and climate change are related?

Well, this is the main reason we are studying this chapter.

It most likely explain one of the ways to “cool our planet” since it is getting warmer.

The Need for Climate Action on Agriculture and Land Use

Most of the world’s carbon is on land, besides the atmosphere

About 1,600 billion tons of this carbon is in the soil as organic matter and some 540-610 billion tons is in living vegetation.

Life is possible on the planet because of the double actions of carbon and atmosphere.

Plants also use it to produce food and resource that sustain the rest of the biota.

Land use changes and fossil fuel burning are the two major sources of the increased CO2 in the atmosphere that is changing the global climate.

The example of Amazon and Volta basins is one of them It affects climate by altering regional precipitation

patterns. Other mankind actions could have the opposite effect. Growing plants can remove carbon from

atmosphere ,stabilize the climate and food production.

CONTINUED… The temperature and rainfall are widely influenced by some

agricultural activities such the choice of crops, the timing of input application, and vulnerability to pest and diseases.

If the climate change, the production will change and the farming systems will be most affected.

That will explain the predictions in 2020 about Mexico maize production.

A yearly looses of 140 million and immense socioeconomic disruption are predicted.

Many other examples of countries which benefit from natural climatic conditions and can be severely affected are listed.( North America, India.)

In the other hand climatic conditions can get better in other places such as east Africa and profit the population around.

Most of the strategies developed here in change of climate are all related to the reduction of GHG emissions or increase the storage of carbon in production and natural systems

Immediate human action for adaptation are recommended if we want to slow the climate change.

Making Agriculture and Land Use Climate-friendly and Climate-resilient

Agricultural landscape is very useful for every living matter on earth.

When it comes to climate, landscape and farming influence the amount of carbon, reduce emissions of methane, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions from inorganic fertilizers.

Many techniques are already available to achieve climate-friendly landscapes.

Even though they are not a perfect success, their combination help the world to move decisively forward.

The five important strategies are: Enriching soil carbon, Creating high-carbon cropping systems, Promoting climate-friendly livestock production systems, Protecting existing carbon stores in natural forests and grasslands, and Restoring vegetation in degraded areas.

Adapted seed varieties is one of the improvements needed for production system.

CONTINUED…

These strategies will definitively meet the farmers needs and wide range of socio-politic classes.

In addition, they can help to meet the internationally agreed millennium development goals and other global environmental conventions

Proper investments will be the key of the economic success of such projects.

The government actions are also needed. Mobilize the financing and the social organization

needed, plus the development of additional incentives.

Finally, invest in the development of technologies and management systems that are not well known.

Enriching Soil Carbon

All About Soil…• Third largest carbon pool on planet• Consists of four components: minerals,H2O,air and organic

material.• Non-living organic material comes from dead plants/animals

and microbial matter• Living organic material-flora and fauna• Together only comprise 1-6% of soils volume, but are far

more valuable in their contribution to the soil.• Amending, not depleting carbon rich soil from year-year

through organic management will provide productive soils.• Effective tool in identifying areas where soil carbon is

greatest-2008 Global Carbon Gap Map Three areas of enriching the soil: Enhancing nutrients,

minimizing tillage, incorporate biochar.

Enriching Soil Carbon;continued

Enhance Soil Nutrients

Inorganic vs.Organic methods Inorganic fertilizer use est. at 102 million tons worldwide

(industrial countries/irrigated developing nations) emit 2 billion tons of GHG per year.

Soils with nitrogen fertilizers release N20 (a GHG) with a warming capacity 300x warmer than CO2

Bottom line, fertility management practices must be adopted; remove carbon from the air and increase soil organic matter

Examples of minimizing need for inorganic fertilizers consists of:

Composting, green manures, nitrogen fixing cover crops, livestock manures

Enriching Soil Carbon;continued

Enhance Soil Nutrients

Benefits of organic farming:( experiment by the Rodale Institute) found that organic farming increased soil carbon 15-28% and N2O 8-15%-result 65 million hectares of corn and soybean switched to organic farming saves ¼ billion tons of carbon

Cons of organic farming Cost and productivity vary widely; may require more labor

or costlier inputs( in replacing all or part of inorganic fertilizer in high yield systems)

Question remains whether organic farming is capable of sustaining the world population; more research needed to evaluate soil type and climatic variances

Enriching Soil CarbonMinimize Soil Tillage

Process of tilling releases carbon into air (anaerobic microbes exposed to O2 when soil turned upside down; aerobic microbes are under soil and suffocated; exposure of the nonliving matter to O2 releases CO2)

Solutions Keep mulch on soil to minimize decay and maintain

moisture hence less CO2 emitted Use non-mechanized means of planting seeds; hand weed Mechanized methods developed to drill seed through

vegetative layer Combine no-till with crop rotation and green manure crops Benefit of no till: Yield a 1/3 more wheat and soybean,

reduce soil erosion by 90%, reduce labor, fossil fuel use and enhancing biodiversity.

Enriching Soil Carbon;Incorporate Biochar

(Burning) keeps carbon in soil longer, because carbon rich dark matter is stable.

Potential 594 million tons of CO2 equivalent in biochar p/yr by using waste materials such as: forest/milling residues, rice husks, groundnut shells and urban waste-planting/converting more trees would increase production of biochar

Biochar applied up to 183 tons of CO2 equivalent, applied to 10% of world’s cropland could store 29 billion tons of CO2; offset nearly all emissions from fossil fuel burning

Creating High-carbon Cropping Systems

Perrenial grains- are products such as rice, sorghum, wheat, intermediate wheatgrass, rye and sunflower. Currently,

2/3 of all arable land is used to grow only annual grains. The problem with annual grain growing is that the process of tilling, seeding, chemical treatments, and such are not beneficial to the climate. So researchers are studying the development for switching over the production of annual crops, to perrenial. There are challenges. Breeding perrenial crops takes longer, the rewards in the future for this research will be worth it.

AGROFORESTRY INTERCROPS-

In Dictionary.com, it says that agroforestry is “A system of land use in which harvestable trees or shrubs are grown among or around crops or on pastureland, as a means of preserving or enhancing the productivity of the land.”

When you use agroforestry intercropping to increase productivity to the land, you are mixing types of species of crops together with the growing of climate sensitive trees to that crop. The U.N. just launched a new campaign starting in Nairobi in 2006 to help promote agroforestry, the campaign was called, A Billion Tree Campaign. More than 2 billion trees in 150 countries have been planted due to this campaign, half started in Africa, while 700 million trees were planted in Etheopia. This kind of initiative is helping ensure the more economical hope of farmers to help contain more significant amounts of carbon in the air.

Promoting Climate-friendly Livestock Production

Three ways to promote climate friendly production: Intensive rotational grazing, feed supplements, biogas digesters.

Domestic livestock-most of the total living animal biomass worldwide. 50% of the emissions from agriculture and land use change.

Increase in meat consumption triggered rise of feedlots, confined dairies, land clearing for grazing.

Result: Production of large amounts of GHG: (methane from fermentation of food in animal’s stomach, NO2 from denitrification from manure storage, carbon from crop,animal, microbial respiration and fuel combustion)

Consumption of meat and dairy is not only alternative to reducing GHG.

Promoting Climate-friendly Livestock ProductionIntensive Rotational Grazing

Alternative to extensive grazing systems and confined feedlots; to reduce GHG emissions; rotational grazing.

Rotational grazing practiced in: US, Australia, New Zealand, parts of Europe, southern/eastern Africa.

Allows proper regeneration of plants after grazing and to confined animal operations

Confined animal operations carbon footprints higher. To improve footprints must: improve carbon storage

in grass systems, use higher –quality forage, eliminate manure storage, increase meat/milk production per animal

Promoting Climate-friendly Livestock ProductionFeed Supplements

and Biogas Digesters for Energy

Nutrient supplements and innovative feed mixes reduce methane, but require sophisticated management

Advanced technologies include: removing microbial organisms from the rumen/adding bacteria that reduces gas production.

Ongoing research to develop vaccines against methane producing organisms.

Biogas… Manure; major source of methane. Poor manure

management responsible for water pollution, but also a source of fossil fuel through use of biogas digester.

Digester; biogas for heat/electricity and sludge as fertilizer Methane 25x global warming potential than CO2 over 100 yr

period. Penn England dairy farm purchased digester in 2005 that

indicates the possible commercial contribution.

Protecting Existing Carbon Stores in Natural Forests and Grasslands

Forests and grasslands are major reservoir of carbon.

Absorb carbon from atomosphere contributing to better climate.

Deforestation causes more carbon in atomsphere.

Incentives should be developed to conserve key stakeholders.

Raise economic value of forest and grasslands Agricultural products should be labeled as not

harmful to natural habitat. Local tenure rights should be secured for

communal forests and grasslands.

REDUCE UNCONTROLLED FOREST AND GRASSLAND BURNING:

Burning significant source of carbon emission.

Fires in forests can have pros and cons. In some ecosystems it helps weed control,

contributes to soil improvement. In others it kills wildlife, reduces habitat and

increases chances of more fire. Fire tracking systems tracks the parties

responsible. Protecting conservative areas helps climate

regulations.

RESTORING VEGETATION IN DEGRADED AREAS:

Extensive areas are being devegetated on large scale.

Causes loss in income, threat to wildlife and ecosystems.

Can be restored as a win-win investment. Accelerates soil loss, due to run off of bare soil

with rain water. Causes water scarcity, while the demand for

water is on the rise Cheap ways of revegetation are being used. Threat to biodiversity due to loss and

fragmentation of natural habitat. Conservation of biodiversity requires

establishment of biological corridors.

MARKET INCENTIVES FOR CLIMATE FRIENDLY AGRICULTURE AND LAND USE:

policies, investment priorities, and supporting institutions to create incentives for farmers and forests owners etc is the challenge.

Farmers and communities who manage land are central players.

Consumers and buyers awareness is the key. Consumer’s choice impacts the climate Product markets have been recognizing the

climate values.

Public Policies to Support the Transition

Costa Rica is a participant in the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, and has increased its forest cover from 21 percent in 1986, to 51percent in 2006. That is a difference of 30%.

There are Markets that make payments for these efforts to the governments, and the governments spend billions of dollars yearly on subsidy payments to farmers. The United States, Europe, Japan, India and China are also Countries that are focusing on rebuilding sustainable agricultural practices that contribute to helping put climate change on the right path again. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, The World Bank’s Bio Carbon Fund, Rabobank(the world’s largest agricultural financier), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are such groups surfacing That are creating talk about “re-greening” and offering financing to establish the right tools to make that happen.

 TAKING ACTION FOR CLIMATE FRIENDLY LAND USE

Ingenious Systems are needing a fundamental restructuring to ensure sustainable food systems will be resilient to Future climate change. There are currently more than 850 million hungry people in developing countries all over this world, and the food Production and land use that is being consumed to feed all of these people is unfortunately harming the climate that we live in. There have been an increasing amount of scientists and entrepreneurs that are becoming dedicated to tackle The food challenge, but the scale of the action needed is in need of a boost. There are no major international initiatives that address the interlinked challenge of climate, agriculture, and land use.