Carbon-farming ; why so much traction?
Carbon-farming as a means of SOC build-up & sequestration are getting a lot airtime recently. This said, the jury seems to be still out, not having reached any consensus. For instance ;
* " ... the existing knowledge base does not justify the current trend to set global agendas focusing first and foremost on SOC sequestration." Moinet et al. 2023 (https://lnkd.in/eVaFNPsR)
* " ... This raises the question of whether SOC sequestration matters for climate change." Minasny et al. 2023(https://lnkd.in/ecWMYvm5)
* " ... We question the feasibility of the 4p1000 goal, using basic stoichiometric arguments. Soil organic matter (SOM) contains nitrogen as well as C and it is unclear what will be the origin of this N." Van Groenigen et al. 2017 (https://lnkd.in/eQpETXn8)
* " ... We conclude that there are severe limiations to achieving the “4 per 1000” goal in practical agriculture over large areas." Poulton et al. 2017 (https://lnkd.in/eXshmKcM)
* " ... based on differences in nutrient stoichiometry, we highlight the ignificant ‘hidden nutrient cost’ /../ in sequestering of carbon in SOM. The ‘cost’ of these nutrients should be considered /.../ and accounted for in carbon-trading schemes" Richardson et al. 2014 (https://lnkd.in/e8cmih22)
* etc., etc., etc.
Despite this persistant hum, carbon-farming & SOC sequestration are still getting a lot of traction as THE main CDR mechanism in agriculture. Is this excitement really justified at this stage? Are #mrv technologies keeping up? Will the bubble burst? It would be interesting to look into the socio-economics of all this; Barbato et al. 2023 (https://lnkd.in/eFKp72zP) have already done so, to some extent.
Polyor SAS's AgroNum approach to sustainable agriculture & soil conservation (https://www.linkedin.com/company/polyor-sas/about/?viewAsMember=true) is poised as an alternative to the current carbon-farming/sequestration paradigm. Time will tell.
#carbonfarming #mrv #soilwise
