An assessment of alternative agricultural management practice impacts on soil carbon in the corn belt
- Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA (United States)
This impact of alternative management practices on agricultural soil C is estimated by a soil C mass balance modeling study that incorporates policy considerations in the analysis. A literature review of soil C modeling and impacts of management practices has been completed. The models selected for use and/or modification to meet the needs of representing soil C cycles in agroecosystems and impacts of management practices are CENTURY and DNDC. These models share a common ability to examine the impacts of alternative management practices on soil organic C, and are readily accessible. An important aspect of this effort is the development of the modeling framework and methodology that define the agricultural production systems and scenarios (i.e., crop-soil-climate combinations) to be assessed in terms of national policy, the integration of the model needs with available databases, and the operational mechanics of evaluating C sequestration potential with the integrated model/database system. We are working closely with EPA`s Office of Policy and Program Evaluation to define a reasonable set of policy alternatives for this assessment focusing on policy that might be affected through a revised Farm Bill, such as incentives to selectively promote conservation tillage, crop rotations, and/or good stewardship of the conservation reserve. Policy alternatives are translated into basic data for use in soil C models through economic models. These data, including such elements as agricultural practices, fertilization rates, and production levels are used in the soil C models to produce net carbon changes on a per unit area basis. The unit-area emissions are combined with areal-extent data in a GIS to produce an estimate of total carbon and nitrogen changes and thus estimate greenhouse benefits.
- Research Organization:
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States). Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences
- OSTI ID:
- 249771
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930285-; ON: DE96008736; TRN: 96:002765-0039
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. US/Japan workshop on global change research: environmental response technologies, Honolulu, HI (United States), 1-3 Feb 1993; Other Information: PBD: 1993; Related Information: Is Part Of A report from the second US/Japan workshop on global change research: Environmental response technologies (mitigation and adaptation). United States-Japan Science and Technology Agreement; Edgerton, S. [comp.] [National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States). Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences]; Mizuno, Tateki [comp.] [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, MITI (Japan)]; PB: 358 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Toward optimal soil organic carbon sequestration with effects of agricultural management practices and climate change in Tai-Lake paddy soils of China
Soil carbon sequestration potential and the identification of hotspots in the Eastern Corn Belt of the United States
Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING AND POLICY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
CARBON
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
MASS BALANCE
CARBON CYCLE
GREENHOUSE GASES
MITIGATION
GLOBAL ASPECTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
AGRICULTURE