Agroforestry ~ Working Trees for Sequestering 9 th North American Agroforestry Conference 12-15 June...

Agroforestry ~ Working Trees for Sequestering

9th North American Agroforestry Conference 12-15 June 2005 - Rochester, MN

Carbon on Ag-Lands

Michele SchoenebergerUSDA, Southern Research Station

National Agroforestry Centerwww.unl.edu/nac

DRAFT TECHNICAL GUIDELINESDRAFT TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASESGREENHOUSE GASES

(1605b) PROGRAM(1605b) PROGRAM

OFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL OFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSAFFAIRS

UNITED STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYUNITED STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

MARCH 2005MARCH 2005

H: Agricultural Emissions and SequestrationH: Agricultural Emissions and Sequestration

I: Forestry Emissions and SequestrationI: Forestry Emissions and Sequestration

U.S. Climate Change Strategy


VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASESVOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASES


OFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSOFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS





http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/index.htmlhttp://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/index.html




Attractive Agroforestry Attributesfor Carbon Sequestration

Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association (grower-based

organization) negotiated an agreement w/ Entergy

Leasing 30,000 tons of CO2 offset credits

Credits generated by the growers in PNDSA

Using direct seed methods for at least 10 years

PNDSA – aggregator (77 producers) & administrator

PNDSA/Entergy Carbon2002 Agreement


VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASESGREENHOUSE GASES


OFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL OFFICE OF POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSAFFAIRS





U.S. Climate Change Strategy

Feeds into future endorsement &

investment

USDA’s Carbon Seq. StrategiesUSDA’s Carbon Seq. Strategies

Agriculture ~ Soil CAgriculture ~ Soil C ForestsForests

Hey! Hey! Remember me??Remember me??

Carbon? You Carbon? You want want carbon??!carbon??!

Help! I’m getting Help! I’m getting squashed betweensquashed betweenthese 2 giants!!!these 2 giants!!!


Limited information-base & tools compared to the decades-worth of investment & accomplishment in forestry & agriculture.

Not being at the policy/program formulation discussion tables.

Ecological foot in both worlds – but not strongly owned or promoted by either.

Under-Recognition of Agroforestry as a C-Seq. Option

no political foothold in either

What about silvopasture?

New Zealand (2001)~ “Potential Management Practices & Technologies for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Agriculture” Managing grazing land to increase carbon storage

requires a larger portion of the carbon fixed in photosynthesis to be returned to the soil.

This is not economically viable as it means reduced product output relative to inputs.


VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASESVOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASES







Afforestation in that it does not convert agricultural lands to forests;

Rather it leaves it in production agriculture.

Agroforestry isn’t ----

….a tree-based conservation/production

option withinagricultural land use.

Agroforestry is ----


Agroforestry, by definition of size, not being a big activity w/in forest land use mitigation strategies.

Those working in ag-lands, not looking to forest Land use activities, for use down on the farm.

Agroforestry practices that fully integrate tree/crop throughout the whole farm (i.e., silvopasture) may not be picked up by either!

Forestry-Science but Ag-Land Use:Implications

Here, you do this!It involves agriculture!

Here, you do this.It involves trees!

USDANRI FIA

FIA (USFS-Forest Inventory & Analysis)

(USDA-NRCS Natural Resources Inventory)

NRI

Feeds into the Joint Ag-Forest GHG

Inventory

GHG

Policy & Program

Agricultural Sinks:

Strong soil emphasis

Recommendations resemble the expertise of those brought to the advisory tables………..

CarbOn Management Evaluation Tool for Voluntary Reporting

USDA NRCS, CSU and NREL

http://www.cometvr.colostate.edu/

Reporting tool for options

Comparison tool of options

“Working Trees” can address: water/air/soil quality

wildlife habitat / fragmentation

econ. diversification

waste management

rural/urban interface

stormwater management

Carbon is a Co-Benefit!

Reduction in CO2 emissions

CO2 sink

Carbon Sequestration

Agriculture occurs on half the land in the contiguous U.S.

Opportunities to store carbon can occur through agroforestry on farms/ranches.

Big net gain of carbon per unit of land area

Agroforestry...

…Putting the right tree, in the right location, for the right reason.

Alley Cropping Silvopasture Forest Farming

Riparian Forest Buffers Windbreaks

Wind Erosion ~

Dust Bowl ~ 1930’sDust Bowl ~ 1930’sDust Storms - 2002

2 deaths/9 injuries: Beaver Crossing, NE ~ 5/22/02

Road pile-up/Injuries: Grand Junction, CO ~ 4/02

Road fatality/Vehicle pile-up: Nebraska City, NE 4/02

20 vehicle pile-up/Injuries: Burley, ID ~ 5/6/02

3 deaths/Vehicle pile-up: Big Springs, NE ~ 8/22/02

Green Infrastructure Waterbreaks

Riparian Buffers

Waste Treatment

Woodlands /Specialty Products

Agroforestry ~ Working Trees for Water Quality

Agroforestry as an Attractive Carbon Sequestering Practice

Multiple co-benefits

Permanence

Big net gain of carbon per land unit area

Generally no leakage/additionality issues

Carbon Pools1605(b) Voluntary GHG Reporting

Live trees

Understory vegetation

Standing dead trees

Forest floor

Soil carbon

Harvested materials (in use/burned for

energy/emissions – not for energy)

Aboveground:Aboveground:• Readily observedReadily observed• NondestructiveNondestructive• EquationsEquations

Belowground:Belowground:• Not readily observedNot readily observed• DestructiveDestructive• Chemical analysesChemical analyses• Highly variableHighly variable

Carbon BalanceNE Pine Forest vs Grassland

(Wedin, D. et al. 2000)

Total ecosystem C increased from ~2,700 g/m2 in grassland to 10,800 g/m2 in the 70 yr-old forest.

Aboveground biomass in forest accounted for 90% of this increase.

SOM Dynamics in AfforestationSOM Dynamics in Afforestation

(E.A. Paul et al. 2002, SSAJ Special Issue)(E.A. Paul et al. 2002, SSAJ Special Issue)

• Up to 30% of seq-C may be in soil poolsUp to 30% of seq-C may be in soil pools

• -0.07 to 0.58 Mg/ha/yr afforested deciduous-0.07 to 0.58 Mg/ha/yr afforested deciduous

• -0.85 to 0.56 Mg/ha/yr afforested conifer-0.85 to 0.56 Mg/ha/yr afforested conifer

Major Carbon Sinks & Sources in Windbreaks

Agroforestry Carbon Pools1605(b) Voluntary GHG Reporting

Live trees

Understory vegetation

Standing dead trees

Forest floor

Soil carbon

Harvested materials (in use/burned for

energy/emissions – not for energy)

Live Tree:Live Tree:• Readily observedReadily observed• Majority of C sequesteredMajority of C sequestered• Baseline ~ ZEROBaseline ~ ZERO• Cost-effectiveCost-effective• Nondestructive viaNondestructive via

equationsequations

Biomass equations for “edge” forests

Portions

Trunk Branch Whole tree

Sh

elt

erb

elt

bio

ma

ss

(d

ry k

g/1

00

m le

ng

th)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Estimated using the regional forest-derived equations (Hahn & Hansen, 1991; Smith, 1985) Estimated using the shelterbelt-derived equations. The 95% confidence interval was estimatedbased on the variance of our shelterbelt data and the method of Battes and Watts (1988).

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

c. Green ash

a. Austrian pine b. Eastern redcedar

Trunk Branch Whole tree

d. Three species combined

4,962 kg

Figure 3 Comparison of regional forest-derived equations with shelterbelt-derived equations for

shelterbelt network biomass estimations of individual species and the three species together.

(Zhou, Brandle, Schoeneberger, Mize & Awada 2005)

Branch TotalShel

terb

elt a

bove

grou

nd b

iom

ass

(dry

kg/

100

m le

ngth

)

Trunk

Regional Forest Eq

Shelterbelt Data/Eq

Branch TotalTrunk

Branch TotalTrunk

John Kimble (USDA NRCS)“However, in most cases, policy development will go on without more research.”

USDA Symposium on Natural Resource Management to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Nov 2002

Raleigh, North Carolina

John Kimble (USDA NRCS)“However, in most cases, policy development will go on without more research.”

What do they need to know today?

Realistic Potential

Agroforestry Potential in the Carbon Balance - Nebraska

Carbon Sequestration, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, & NE Agriculture-Background & Potential (Dec. 2001)

Rpt of the NE DNR to NE Unicameral - Recommendations of the NE Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee

Agroforestry Potential to Store Carbonon Nebraska Farms

Field Windbreaks 11.7 – 23.4

Center Pivot Corners 15.1 – 30.2

Living Snowfences 5.4 – 10.8

Riparian Forest Buffers 9.2 – 18.4

PRACTICECO2 – million metric tons

(at age 20)

TOTAL 41.4 – 82.8 mmt

Option Ha %total MT CO2 MT CO2/ha/yr

Conservationtillage only

254No-tillage

100 9,203* 1.17-0.18

9,203Conservation

tillage & windbreaks

241No-tillage

95 8,712* 1.17-0.18

13Windbreaks

5 7,416 2.36-17.23

16,128

Carbon Sequestration Potential – 2 OptionsMead Farm – Nebraska (50 years)

*COMeT (Brenner et al.)

Option Ha %total MT CO2 MT CO2/ha/yr

Conservationtillage only

254No-tillage

100 9,203* 1.17-0.18

9,203Conservation

tillage & windbreaks

241No-tillage

95 8,712* 1.17-0.18

13Windbreaks

. 2.36-17.23

16,128

Carbon Sequestration Potential – 2 OptionsMead Farm – Nebraska (50 years)

*COMeT (Brenner et al.)

• Readily monitored/verified• Does not change land use• Provides OTHER benefits

5 7,416


CO2 Limited – to supply carbon credits though to 2012

Largest agreement in Australia -- $20 million

6,500 ha. of eucalyptus plantations in NSW – “integrated with cereal

cropping systems”

Plantings in place for 100+ years

Carbon + mitigation of salinity, biodiversity, soil conservation,

water catchment protection & employment opportunities

CO2 Group Limited/Origin Energy Carbon Agreement - (11/04)

EBEX21: Emissions/Biodiversity Exchange Project

Initiated in 2001 by Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Institute in NZ

Fear of massive conversion of marginal agricultural lands to forest plantations

Catalyze business action on GHG emissions and restoration of

biodiversity


• Identified agroforestry as an activity that “can sequester carbon and have beneficial effects on biodiversity because it creates more biologically diverse systems than conventional agricultural lands.”

(Gitay et al. 2002)

Proposal to use agroforestry definition (Gold et al. 2000) in

combination w/ woody perennial crops as the basis for land with tree cover that should be

considered cropland in GHG inventories.

Feeds into joint Ag-Forest GHG

Inventory

Efforts being initiated to see how tree-based plantings can be incorporated

“easily, reliably & economically” into COMET VR.

Feeds into joint Ag-Forest GHG

Tools (policy & program)

Agroforestry Potential to Store Carbonin Minnesota

Field Windbreaks

Center Pivot Corners

Living Snowfences

Riparian Forest Buffers

PRACTICECO2 – million metric tons

(at age 20)

TOTAL

??

Agroforestry ~ Working Trees for Sequestering

9th North American Agroforestry Conference 12-15 June 2005 - Rochester, MN

Carbon on Ag-Lands

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