Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases

Book Description :

Global climate change is a natural process that currently appears to be strongly influenced by human activities, which increase atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG). Agriculture contributes about 20% of the world’s global radiation forcing from carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, and produces 50% of the methane and 70% of the nitrous oxide of the human-induced emission. Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases synthesizes the wealth of information generated from the GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) effort with contributors from a variety of backgrounds, and reports findings with important international applications. Frames responses to challenges associated with climate change within the geographical domain of the U.S., while providing a useful model for researchers in the many parts of the world that possess similar ecoregions Covers not only soil C dynamics but also nitrous oxide and methane flux, filling a void in the existing literature Educates scientists and technical service providers conducting greenhouse gas research, industry, and regulators in their agricultural research by addressing the issues of GHG emissions and ways to reduce these emissions Synthesizes the data from top experts in the world into clear recommendations and expectations for improvements in the agricultural management of global warming potential as an aggregate of GHG emissions

Book Description :

A valuable source of information for researchers and environmental practitioners, providing the most up-to-date information on greenhouse gas emissions from field crops and livestock animals

Book Description :

Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through the wider use of existing best practices and technologies. FAO conducted a detailed analysis of GHG emissions at multiple stages of various livestock supply chains, including the production and transport of animal feed, on-farm energy use, emissions from animal digestion and manure decay, as well as the post-slaughter transport, refrigeration and packaging of animal products. This report represents the most comprehensive estimate made to-date of livestocks contribution to global warming as well as the sectors potential to help tackle the problem. This publication is aimed at professionals in food and agriculture as well as policy makers.

Book Description :

Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Crop Productivity and Water examines the greenhouse gas emissions and their warming effect, climate change projections, crop productivity and water. The book explores the most important greenhouse gases that influence the climate system, technical terms associated with climate projections, and the different mechanisms impacting crop productivity and water balance. Adaptive and mitigative strategies are proposed to cope with negative effects of climate change in particular domains. This book will help researchers interested in climate change impacts on the atmosphere, soil and plants. Uncovers links between climate change and its impact on crop and water outputs Integrates information on greenhouse gas cycles and mathematical equations into climate/crop models for analysis and seasonal prediction systems Provides strategies for efficient resource management and sustainable crop production in future Helps researchers interested in climate change impacts on the atmosphere, soil and plants

Book Description :

This open access book discusses current thinking and presents the main issues and challenges associated with climate change in Africa. It introduces evidences from studies and projects which show how climate change adaptation is being - and may continue to be successfully implemented in African countries. Thanks to its scope and wide range of themes surrounding climate change, the ambition is that this book will be a lead publication on the topic, which may be regularly updated and hence capture further works. Climate change is a major global challenge. However, some geographical regions are more severly affected than others. One of these regions is the African continent. Due to a combination of unfavourable socio-economic and meteorological conditions, African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The recently released IPCC special report "Global Warming of 1.5o C" outlines the fact that keeping global warming by the level of 1.5o C is possible, but also suggested that an increase by 2o C could lead to crises with crops (agriculture fed by rain could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020) and livestock production, could damage water supplies and pose an additonal threat to coastal areas. The 5th Assessment Report produced by IPCC predicts that wheat may disappear from Africa by 2080, and that maize— a staple—will fall significantly in southern Africa. Also, arid and semi-arid lands are likely to increase by up to 8%, with severe ramifications for livelihoods, poverty eradication and meeting the SDGs. Pursuing appropriate adaptation strategies is thus vital, in order to address the current and future challenges posed by a changing climate. It is against this background that the "African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation" is being published. It contains papers prepared by scholars, representatives from social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Africa, and working with communities across the African continent. Encompassing over 100 contribtions from across Africa, it is the most comprehensive publication on climate change adaptation in Africa ever produced.

Book Description :

Soil Management and Climate Change: Effects on Organic Carbon, Nitrogen Dynamics, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions provides a state of the art overview of recent findings and future research challenges regarding physical, chemical and biological processes controlling soil carbon, nitrogen dynamic and greenhouse gas emissions from soils. This book is for students and academics in soil science and environmental science, land managers, public administrators and legislators, and will increase understanding of organic matter preservation in soil and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Given the central role soil plays on the global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles and its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, there is an urgent need to increase our common understanding about sources, mechanisms and processes that regulate organic matter mineralization and stabilization, and to identify those management practices and processes which mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, helping increase organic matter stabilization with suitable supplies of available N. Provides the latest findings about soil organic matter stabilization and greenhouse gas emissions Covers the effect of practices and management on soil organic matter stabilization Includes information for readers to select the most suitable management practices to increase soil organic matter stabilization

Book Description :

Management practices used on croplands to enhance crop yields and quality can contribute about 10-20% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs: carbon dioxide [CO2], nitrous oxide [N2O], and methane [CH4]). Some of these practices are tillage, cropping systems, N fertilization, organic fertilizer application, cover cropping, fallowing, liming, et cetera The impact of these practices on GHGs in radiative forcing in the earth's atmosphere is quantitatively estimated by calculating net global warming potential (GWP) which accounts for all sources and sinks of CO2 equivalents from farm operations, chemical inputs, soil carbon sequestration, and N2O and CH4 emissions. Net GWP for a crop production system is expressed as kg CO2 equinox ha−1 year.−1 Net GWP can also be expressed in terms of crop yield (kg CO2 equinox kg−1 grain or biomass yield) which is referred to as net greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) or yield-scaled GWP and is calculated by dividing net GWP by crop yield. This article discusses the literature review of the effects of various management practices on GWP and GHGI from croplands as well as different methods used to calculate net GWP and GHGI. The paper also discusses novel management techniques to mitigate net CO2 emissions from croplands to the atmosphere. This information will be used to address the state of global carbon cycle.

Book Description :

Short description: Cattle are a major source of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. Part 1 reviews the genetics, measurement and modelling of methane emissions from cattle. Parts 2 and 3 look at mitigation strategies, from manure and grassland management to improved nutrition.

Book Description :

The changing climatic scenario has affected crop production in the adverse ways, and the impact of it on agriculture is now emerging as a major priority among crop science researchers. Agriculture in this changing climatic scenario faces multiple diverse challenges due to a wide array of demands. Climate-resilient agriculture is the need of the hour in many parts of the world. Understanding the adverse effects of climatic change on crop growth and development and developing strategies to counter these effects are of paramount importance for a sustainable climate-resilient agriculture. This multiauthored edited book brings out sound climate-resilient agriculture strategies that have a strong basic research foundation. We have attempted to bridge information from various diverse agricultural disciplines, such as soil science, agronomy, plant breeding, and plant protection, which can be used to evolve a need-based technology to combat the climatic change in agriculture.

Book Description :

This open access book on straw management aims to provide a wide array of options for rice straw management that are potentially more sustainable, environmental, and profitable compared to current practice. The book is authored by expert researchers, engineers and innovators working on a range of straw management options with case studies from Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. The book is written for engineers and researchers in order to provide them information on current good practice and the gaps and constraints that require further research and innovation. The book is also aimed at extension workers and farmers to help them decide on the best alternative straw management options in their area by presenting both the technological options as well as the value chains and business models required to make them work. The book will also be useful for policy makers, required by public opinion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, looking for research-based evidence to guide the policies they develop and implement.

Book Description :

This report presents examples of the impacts of adaptation strategies required for reducing vulnerability of agriculture and forestry to climate variability and climate change. It also presents information on the impacts of the conversion of forests into crop and rangelands and also examples of the impact of management strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agroecosystems.

Book Description :

In 2008, agricultural greenhouse gas sources accounted for about 6% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Agriculture and Forestry Greenhouse Gas Inventory: 1990-2008 was developed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of U.S. agriculture and forestry to greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. It provides extensive, in-depth emissions and sinks estimates for livestock, cropland, and forests, as well as energy consumption in livestock and cropland agriculture. Estimates are provided at State, regional, and national scales, categorized by land ownership and management practices where possible. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

Book Description :

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.

Book Description :

The books deals with the critical issues of climate change and its impact on agriculture and proposes climate smart agriculture as the probable solution to this issue. It discusses the impact of climate change and greenhouse gases emission on agriculture. It covers the strategies and management options of climate smart agriculture by including crop, water, soil, and energy management with examples and case studies. The subject matter has been presented in a very lucid language, containing real-time case studies, questions and few solved problems in specific chapters. The text is further enriched with simple line diagram and figures, chart, flow charts and tables. The book is primarily intended for researchers and professionals in the research areas of environmental science, agriculture, soil science, etc.

Book Description :

Carbon and Nitrogen in the Terrestrial Environment is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary description of C and N fluxes between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere; issues related to C and N management in different ecosystems and their implications for the environment and global climate change; and the approaches to mitigate emission of greenhouse gases. Drawing upon the most up-to-date books, journals, bulletins, reports, symposia proceedings and internet sources documenting interrelationships between different aspects of C and N cycling in the terrestrial environment, Carbon and Nitrogen in the Terrestrial Environment fills the gap left by most of the currently available books on C and N cycling. They either deal with a single element of an ecosystem, or are related to one or a few selected aspects like soil organic matter (SOM) and agricultural or forest management, emission of greenhouse gases, global climate change or modeling of SOM dynamics.

Book Description :

Intensive agriculture, coupled with an increase in nitrogen fertilizer use, has contributed significantly to the elevation of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Rising GHG emissions usually mean a decrease in soil carbon. Currently, soil C is twice that of all standing crop biomass, making it an extremely important player in the C cycle. Fortunately, agricultural management practices have the potential to reduce agricultural GHG emissions whilst increasing soil C. Management practices that impact GHG emissions and soil C include various tillage practices, different N fertilization amounts and treatments (synthetic N, cattle manure, or a combination of both), the use of cover crops, aeration, and water levels. Employing agricultural best management practices (BMPs) can assist in the mitigation and sequestration of CO2, N2O and soil C. Measuring soil carbon storage and GHG emissions and using them as metrics to evaluate BMPs are vital in understanding agriculture’s role in climate change. The objective of this research was to quantify soil carbon and CO2 and N2O emissions in agroecosystems (dairy, crop, and meat producing farms) under differing management practices. Three farms were selected for intensive GHG emissions sampling: Shelburne Farm in Shelburne, VT, a dairy in North Williston, VT, and Borderview Farm in Alburgh, VT. At each site, I collected data on GHG (CO2 and N2O) emissions and soil carbon and nitrogen storage to a depth of 1 meter. Soil emissions of CO2 and N2O were taken once every two weeks (on average) from June 2015 through November, 2015 using static flux chambers and a model 1412 Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) gas analyzer (Innova Air Tech Instruments, Ballerup, Denmark). Fluxes were measured on 17 dates at Shelburne Farms, 13 dates at the Williston site, and 13 dates in the MINT trial. Gas samples were taken at fixed intervals over a 10-14 minute time frame, with samples normally taken every one or two minutes. I also measured soil carbon to a depth of 1m in six BMPs at Borderview Farm. Overall, I found that manure injection increased N2O and CO2 emissions, but decreased soil C storage at depth. Tillage had little to no impact on N2O emissions, except at Shelburne Farms, where aeration tillage decreased N2O emissions (marginally significant, P

Book Description :

Soil Management and Greenhouse Effect focuses on proper management of soils and its effects on global change, specifically, the greenhouse effect. It contains up-to-date information on a broad range of important soil management topics, emphasizing the critical role of soil for carbon storage. Sequestration and emission of carbon and other gases are examined in various ecosystems, in both natural and managed environments, to provide a comprehensive overview. This useful reference includes chapters that address policy issues, as well as research and development priorities. The material in this volume is valuable not only to soil scientists but to the entire environmental science community.

Book Description :

In recent years, there have been significant advances in the techniques of sampling and analysis, which has allowed the more accurate recording of environmental levels of many substances present in the environment. At the same time, processes for the remediation of contaminated matrices have evolved, through the application and/or combination of biological, physical, and chemical procedures.The purpose of this book is to present new studies aimed at determining levels of environmental pollution in various parts of the world. It also shows new alternatives for the remediation of contaminated matrices.

Book Description :

Livestock provide valuable nutritional benefits as well as supporting livelihoods and the resilience of families and communities. Demand for animal products continues to grow in response to rising population and increasing wealth, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In spite of productivity gains, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock are also increasing. Successful action on climate change through practical action in livestock agrifood systems is an urgent priority, but must not come at the expense of other sustainability objectives, particularly those relating hunger and poverty. Hence there is a need to balance the benefits of animal-source foods and livestock keeping for nutrition, health and livelihoods, with the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle the climate crisis, which also threatens food security. The following five practical actions can be widely implemented for measurable and rapid impacts on livestock emissions: 1) boosting efficiency of livestock production and resource use; 2) Intensifying recycling efforts and minimizing losses for a circular bioeconomy; 3) capitalizing on nature-based solutions to ramp up carbon offsets; 4) striving for healthy, sustainable diets and accounting for protein alternatives; and 5) developing policy measures to drive change. This brief describes how these can be implemented in integrative and sustainable ways, taking account the diversity of livestock systems and enhancing synergies and managing tradeoffs with other sustainable development objectives. FAO can help by providing developing tools, methodologies and protocols for measuring emissions, and supporting the development and analysis of technical and policy options towards sustainable, low-carbon livestock.

Book Description :

The book provides an analysis of impacts of climate change on water for agriculture, and the adaptation strategies in water management to deal with these impacts. Chapters include an assessment at global level, with details on impacts in various countries. Adaptation measures including groundwater management, water storage, small and large scale irrigation to support agriculture and aquaculture are presented. Agricultural implications of sea level rise, as a subsequent impact of climate change, are also examined.