G20 MACS follow-up International Workshop on

Scaling up and out of climate-smart technologies and practices for sustainable agriculture

“COOL VEGE®”:

Sequestrating soil carbon with

biochar through eco-branded

vegetables

Prof. Akira Shibata, Ritsumeikan University

*Dr. Ayaka W. Kishimoto-Mo, NARO

with the FEAST project team

Nov. 5-7, 2019

@Tokyo

Outlines

Basic of biochar: New value for charcoal✓ Soil carbon sequestration

“COOL VEGE®” concept and scheme

Key role of research institutes in developing “COOL VEGE®”

“Lessons learned” to share and the key role of

research institutes in sharing among different countries and

regions?

Basic of biocharNew value for charcoal in terms of soil carbon sequestration

Basic of Biochar

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/seisan/kankyo/hozen_type/h_dozyo/pdf/chi2.pdf

MAFF ordinance

for improve soil quality No. 299 issued at 1984-Oct-1;

No. 306 issued at 1996-Oct-25;

Basic of biochar: New value for charcoal

Biochar:

New value for charcoal:

Mitigating global warming

First written record of

charcoal use in

agriculture in Japan:

Nogyo ZenshoAgricultural encyclopedia

(1697)

Specifying wood biochar as

material able to improve soil quality

IPCC(2018)SR15, Page 4-46

Biochar

Basic of Biochar

Basic of Biochar: One of low-cost NETsNet Emission Technologies

Tier 2 & 3 methods

refined to estimate

the impact of biochar

amendments on soil

carbon stocks in

mineral soils for

cropland and

grassland.

Basic of Biochar

New value of biochar: Permanence of sequestration

✓ Roth Amsted long-term soil exp. since 1843

✓ Broadbalk winter wheat

年

0

20

40

60

80

100

1840 1880 1920 1960 2000

堆肥連用

堆肥施用途中で中止

化学肥料のみ

土壌炭素量（t/

ha）

FYM

NPK

FYM➔NPK

Coleman & Jenkinson (1996)

Stop Farmyard manure change

to chemical fertilizers

So

il ca

rbo

n a

mo

un

t (t

/ha)

Permanence

needs to

take into account

Permanence of sequestration (Minx et al., 2018):

BiocharStable

Soil carbon sequestrationReversiblevs.

1998-2010

Basic of Biochar

Science of biochar: evidences increased dramatically

The network map of biochar research (Wu et al., 2019, Biochar 1:23-43.)

2011-2015Biochar and

global climate

change

Basic of Biochar

The network map of biochar research (Wu et al., 2019, Biochar 1:23-43.)

Biochar production

Science of biochar: evidences increased dramatically

“COOL VEGE®” concept

and scheme

COOL VEGE®: Concept and Scheme

http://coolvege.com/index.html

The agricultural products cultivated in fields

amended with biochar or biochar-compost are

sold under the “COOL VEGE®” eco-brand.

Biochar made by

local unused

biomass such as

overgrown

bamboo forests

COOL VEGE®: Concept and Scheme

Background of “COOL VEGE®” scheme

Unused bamboo forest

consequently overgrown

Bamboo forest

under management

⚫ Climate change

⚫ Decreasing and aging population in rural area →

Overgrown forests, abundant farmland;

⚫ Needed for sustainable agricultural realization;

←Sustainable rural development to secure food supply

COOL VEGE®: Concept and Scheme

Purpose of “COOL VEGE®” related projects

⚫ Scheme to guarantee the

willingness of famers to use

the practice (biochar);

⚫ Evaluation the framework to

scale up & out COOL VEGE®

scheme;

⚫ Social analysis (famer’s

income and consumer's

behavior)