Measuring, reporting and verification will pave the way for carbon farming rewards
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Measuring, reporting and verfication are the current efforts in research surrounding the potential for carbon farming in Ireland.
Speaking at the recent Teagasc Counting Carbon conference, Frank O'Mara explained that while the concept of carbon farming is quite new in Ireland, it has become more prominent within European policy in recent times.
"In Europe, it is typically described as a green business model to reward farmers and land managers for limiting climate change through increasing carbon removals and cutting GHG emissions from soils. During this conference, our speakers will investigate innovative approaches to farming carbon.
"They will bridge the gap between theory and application in carbon counting by delving into the science and practice behind this important facet of sustainable agriculture," he said, explaining that AgNav could ultimately become a key tool in enabling carbon emissions and sequestration on Irish farms to be rewarded.
Karl Richards, head of Teagasc's Virtual Climate Centre, said the centre was working with national and international organisations and institutions to create effective and trusted partnerships.
“Carbon farming offers the potential for financial reward for actions to reduce emissions and enhance sinks. The detail of any new scheme and the pricing of carbon in the future will strongly influence farmer interest," he said.
Although before it could get to that point, he explained work was ongoing to develop national soil carbon baselines and modelling techniques.
Key to this would be the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory — a network of 28 eddy covariance towers that operate across a wide range of soil types, land-uses and land management practices — and the SFI-funded National Soil Greenhouse Gas Test Platform, which is a high-resolution, automated infrastructure to examine the efficacy and derive emission factors for a range of fertilisers and additives to soils.
He explained that one challenge was to build CO₂ flux and carbon stock data across different soil types, management practices, and land uses, which would improve the accuracy of the national inventory for land use and land management.
Any framework for climate-smart land management in Ireland would need to focus on maintaining existing carbon stocks, recognising the crucial role of peatlands which occupy approximately 20% of the land, but contain over 53% of carbon stocks, essentially acting as "hotspots" for carbon sequestration.
"Secondly, the framework aims to prevent new emissions from emission-sensitive soils, thereby mitigating further atmospheric carbon release," he said. "This includes drained peats, or mineral soils moving from grasslands to arable, which can release significant amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere.
"Thirdly, it emphasizes enhancing long-term carbon sequestration in grassland soils and through land use changes such as afforestation. This holistic approach not only prevents carbon losses but also actively promotes carbon accumulation, contributing to a more sustainable and climate-resilient land management system."
However, his paper warned that an accurate measurement of soil bulk density was crucial for carbon stock estimation.
"Inaccuracies can occur if bulk density is not adjusted for rock fragments or if soil core volume is not measured precisely, leading to carbon stock overestimations of up to 300%," he stated.
Differences in carbon quality were also highlighted. Carbon forms vary significantly in stability and decomposition rates, ranging from labile carbon, which is easily broken down by microbes, with a fast turnover of a few days to less than five years, to biochemically-protected carbon, which can last for over a century to sometimes thousands of years.
High clay content soils were found to be among the best for carbon sequestration, as the clay particles tightly bind organic compounds, making them less accessible to microbes.
Richards explained current research would form the basis for tailored guidance and best practices for sustainable land management and allow the volume of carbon sequestered through specific management practices to be quantified.
Ultimately, the report states this will provide the basis for inclusion of agricultural soils into carbon trading schemes and life-cycle assessments (LCA’s), which will assist the sector in terms of carbon credits and a reduced carbon footprint on agricultural produce.
