Assessment of alternative management practices and policies affecting soil carbon in agroecosystems of the central United States

Technical Report · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:7107777

Donigian, A S; Barnwell, T O; Jackson, R B; Patwardhan, A S; Weinrich, K B

The goal of the U.S. EPA BIOME Agroecosystems Assessment Project is to evaluate the degree to which agroecosystems can be technically managed, on a sustainable basis, to conserve and sequester carbon, reduce the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and provide reference datasets and methodologies for agricultural assessment. The report provides preliminary estimates of carbon sequestration potential for the central United States including the Corn Belt, the Great Lakes, and portions of the Great Plains. This study region comprises 44% of the land area and 60% to 70% of the agricultural cropland of the conterminous United States. The assessment methodology includes the integration of the RAMS economic model, the Century soil carbon model, meteorologic and soils data bases, and GIS display and analysis capabilities in order to assess the impacts on soil carbon of current agricultural trends and conditions, alternative tillage practices, use of cover crops, and Conservation Reserve Program policy.

• Research Organization: AQUA TERRA Consultants, Mountain View, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7107777
• Report Number(s): PB-94-189420/XAB; CNN: EPA-68-CO-0019
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290301* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety-- Regional & Global Environmental Aspects-- (1992-)
AGRICULTURE
CARBON CYCLE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAND USE
MANAGEMENT
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT