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Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Benefits of AgriculturalConservation and Management
Marlen EveUSDA Office of the Chief Scientist
Soil and Water Conservation Society, Greensboro, NC, 27 July 2015
• Project partner: ICF International, Diana Pape and team.
• Lead Authors: Stephen Ogle (CSU); Wendy Powers (MSU); Coeli Hoover (FS)
• Numerous authors, experts, contributors and reviewers.
• Tool Building: Colorado State University; U.S. Forest Service; NRCS
Quantifying Greenhouse Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory
Acknowledgements
Goal: To create a standard set of GHG quantification methods and tools for landowners, USDA, and other stakeholders.• Phase 1: Report outlining comprehensive science-based
methods for entity-scale GHG estimation.• Phase 2: Develop a user-friendly tool that follows the
methods report to provide land owners and managers with reliable and understandable estimates of GHG emissions and C sequestration.
Greenhouse Gas Quantification Methods and Tools for Managers of Integrated Production
Systems in the U.S.A.
4
REPORT LAYOUT AND CONTENT
• Executive Summary• Introduction• Considerations• Crop and Grazing Lands• Wetlands• Animal Systems• Forest lands• Land Use Change• Uncertainty Assessment
http://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/estimation.htm
The Methods Report is designed to be:• A scientifically vetted means for USDA to provide
local-scale, standardized and transparent estimation of GHG fluxes
• Consistent with the USDA and EPA national GHG inventories
• Aligned with NRCS’s COMET Farm and other USDA GHG tools.
• Coordinated with water quality or other tools to assess environmental services benefits
THE USDA GHG METHODS
5
Scientific Experts
Public Comment, Final Inter-Agency and USDA Review
May 2012
Feb – March 2013
Sept - Oct 2013
Final Report ReleaseJuly 2014
Science-Based Methods
USDA Tech. Rev.
CCPO
Oct 2011
Inter-Agency Tech. Rev.
May 2012
CHALLENGE: Vetting the methods. Establishing the rigor and transparency of the report.
29 scientific reviewers
38 expert authors
Federal agency experts
21 subject matter experts
1.Transparency2.Consistency 3.Comparability 4.Completeness 5.Accuracy 6.Cost effectiveness 7.Ease of use
BALANCING ACT Maximize accuracy … but maintain ease of use Complete … but cost effective Stand alone … but consistent and comparable Transparent … but with scientific rigor … and user-friendly
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
CHALLENGE: Capturing management of the whole operation
Animal Feeding
Operation Lago
ons
Pasture
Crop
TreesTr
ees
Wetland
Forest
Cropland Grazing Land Livestock
Managed WetlandsForestry Agroforestry
• Fertilizer management• Tillage management• Crop rotations• Cover cropping• Water or residue
mgmt in cultivated rice• Drainage• Irrigation• Biomass burning
• Fertilizer management• Grazing management• Species enhancement• Drainage• Irrigation• Prescribed burning
• Species mix• Biomass
management• Water management
• Animal housing• Feeds and additives• Feeding management• Manure collection and
storage• Composting• Land application of
manure
• Thinning and harvest• Fertilizer management• Species management• Irrigation• Biomass burning• Planting/re-establishing• Clearing and/or land
conversion
• Windbreaks• Alley cropping• Silvopasture• Riparian forest buffers• Forest farming• Species
selection/mgmt• Cropping system/mgmt
Other equations, emission factors, or new hybrid approaches.
USFS Tools like FVS, FOFEM, and iTree
ARS Tools like DairyGEM, the work of
Rotz and others
CHALLENGE: Bringing all the methods together into a seamless estimation tool.
COMET-FarmExample: Corn-Soybean Rotation in IowaTillage Reduction
1. Map Your Field:
2. Describe Historic Management:
3. Describe Current Management, Conservation Scenarios
COMET-FarmCorn-Soybean Rotation in Iowa, Cont’dTillage Reduction
4. Generate Reports:
COMET USDA GHG Tool
Output Reporting forGHG Decision Support, Quantification and Documentation
Ener
gy U
se
Crop
land
/ G
razi
ng L
and
Live
stoc
k
Entity-Scale GHG Methods Report
Rese
arch
and
Dat
a
REVISIT / REVISE / UPDATE
R&
D
VA
LID
AT
ION
VE
TT
ING
IMPLEMENTATION
IPCC Tier 1
Fore
stry
USDA Forest C Tool
• Extrapolating from sites to all areas of the U.S.
• Accounting for Climate / soils / management interactions
• Comprehensively accounting for all cropping systems and practices– Agroforestry– Specialty crops– Cover cropping– Fertilizer application– Soil Amendments
• Uncertainty Assessment 14
CHALLENGES:
Thank you!
Marlen Eve U.S. Department of AgricultureOffice of the Chief Scientistmarlen.eve@osec.usda.gov(202) 720-9131
www.usda.gov/climatesolutions
CONTACT INFORMATION
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