Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil and in plant biomass, a form of carbon sequestration. The goal is a net removal of carbon from the atmosphere by increasing the rate at which it is captured in soil and vegetation, building organic matter that improves plant growth, soil water retention and fertility while reducing the need for fertilizer. Its methods include changes to tillage and grazing practices, applying organic mulch or compost, using biochar, and reforestation, and by 2016 carbon-farming methods of various kinds were already in use across hundreds of millions of hectares of the world's farmland, though the practice generally costs more than conventional agriculture.
Facts
Practice ClassA set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil and biomass, seeking a net removal of atmospheric carbon through increased sequestration 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Source Carbon farming - Wikipedia
In Discipline
Sources
1. Carbon farming - Wikipedia
Lead section, paragraph 1
Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil and biomass.
Aims section
The overall aim of carbon farming is to store carbon in the soil, crop roots, wood and leaves.
Costs and financial incentives section
Governments in Australia and New Zealand are considering allowing farmers to sell carbon credits once they document that they have sufficiently increased soil carbon content.
Methods section, Using organic mulch and compost
Compost sequesters carbon in a stable (not easily accessed) form.
Methods section, Adjusting tillage
Tillage is avoided using seed drills or similar techniques.
Methods used in agriculture section, cover crops passage
Cover crops are fast-growing species planted to protect soils from wind and water erosion during the off-growing season.
Aims section, soil organic matter passage
Increasing organic matter content in soils aids plant growth, improves soil water retention capacity and reduces fertilizer use.
Methods section, Using organic mulch and compost, mulching passage
Mulching covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw.
Working with biochar and terra preta section, sequestration passage
Mixing anaerobically burned biochar into soil sequesters approximately 50% of the carbon in the biomass.
Adjusting livestock grazing section, paddock rotation passage
By regularly rotating the herd through multiple paddocks (as often as daily) the paddocks can rest/recover between grazing periods.
Mechanism section, global soil carbon passage
Globally, soils are estimated to contain >8,580 gigatons of organic carbon, about ten times the amount in the atmosphere and much more than in vegetation.
Methods section, Adjusting tillage, soil carbon concentration passage
The reduction or complete halt of tilling will create an increase in the soil carbon concentrations of topsoil allowing for regeneration of the soil.
Agroforestry methods, silvopasture passage
Silvopasture involves grazing livestock under tree cover, with trees separated enough to allow adequate sunlight to nourish the grass.
Criticism section, no-till herbicide passage
Another criticism says that no-till practices may increase herbicide use, diminishing or eliminating carbon benefits.
Canada section, conservation tillage adoption passage
By 2014 more than 75% of Canadian Prairies' cropland had adopted "conservation tillage" and more than 50% had adopted no-till.
Associated With: Soil Organic Matter, Aims section, organic matter sentence
The increase of biomass from roots and the soil's microbiome leads to an increase in the organic matter content of the soil.
Associated With: Rotational Grazing, Adjusting livestock grazing section
By regularly rotating the herd through multiple paddocks (as often as daily) the paddocks can rest/recover between grazing periods.
Associated With: Composting, Using organic mulch and compost section
Compost sequesters carbon in a stable (not easily accessed) form.
Associated With: No-Till Farming, Methods section, tillage passage
Tillage is avoided using seed drills or similar techniques.
Associated With: Mulching, Methods section, Using organic mulch and compost, mulching sentence
Mulching covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw.
Associated With: Soil Erosion, Methods section, Adjusting crop type, cover crops passage
Cover crops are fast-growing species planted to protect soils from wind and water erosion during the off-growing season.
Associated With: Minimum Tillage, Methods section, Adjusting tillage, soil carbon passage
The reduction or complete halt of tilling will create an increase in the soil carbon concentrations of topsoil allowing for regeneration of the soil.
Associated With: Sheet Mulching, Methods section, Using organic mulch and compost, mulching sentence
Mulching covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw.
Associated With: Agricultural Biodiversity, Methods used in forestry section, Reforestation subsection, last sentence
Biodiversity is often thought to be a side benefit of carbon farming, but in forest ecosystems increased biodiversity can increase the rate of carbon sequestration and can be a tool in carbon farming and not just a side benefit.
Associated With: Nutrient Cycling, Adjusting crop type section, nitrogen and soil ecosystem passage
The carbon content of a soil should not be increased without also ensuring that the relative amount of nitrogen also increases to maintain a healthy soil ecosystem.
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