Agriculture a key element in reducing global emissions

Agriculture and Soil Carbon: A Critical Part of Climate Change Mitigation

As collaborative work between the International Potato Center (CIP) and Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) shows, it is more important than ever to include agriculture as a key element in strategies for reducing global carbon emissions.

Previous global accords and discussions on climate change have not included agriculture. Specifically, they have left out the role that soil plays as an enormous storehouse of carbon, and what that means in terms of mitigating carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect.

The omission of agriculture as a player in the fate of soil carbon stocks has been largely due to difficulties regarding ways to measure soil carbon levels and stability on site, in undisturbed soil samples. Until recently, such measurements were only possible within the laboratory, using sophisticated and expensive equipment.

But now, there are new techniques, which have the potential of providing cost effective and reliable measurements.  Scientists at CIP and EMBRAPA have applied and validated a new method for measuring soil carbon, using a system that is portable, affordable, and reliable. It uses a new device, developed by EMBRAPA-Agricultural Instrumentation, employing laser-induced optical techniques to measure the carbon levels and their stability in whole soil samples. The device is so light and convenient that it can be used directly in the field.

The implications for carbon emissions are great. “Undisturbed soil is a natural carbon sink,” explains CIP’s Roberto Quiroz, who was one of the Principal Investigator’s for the study. However, activities such as plowing release carbon from the soil into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas. So, if a farmer transforms a high-altitude grassland into cropland, for example, there will be a net loss in the amount of carbon retained in the soil and an increase in the amount of CO2 escaping into the atmosphere.

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