Project Terraprima Portuguese Carbon Fund

Transcription

1 Grassland Soil Carbon Management Expert Group on Agriculture and Climate Change 1st Meeting Brussels, 18/06/2010 Project Terraprima Portuguese Carbon Fund Carbon sequestration in sown biodiverse pastures Presented by: Tiago Domingos Terraprima Serviços Ambientais Lda.

2 Carbon sequestration in pastures Baseline situation 2 Existing pastures in Portugal in natural (spontaneous) pastures, or fallow areas from long cereal rotations Low soil organic matter (SOM) content, low fertility, low stocking rate, and shrub invasion, requiring frequent control operations with soil tillage

3 Permanent Pastures

4 Sown

5 Biodiversity - Mixture

6 Biodiversity - T. incarnatum

7 Biodiversity Mata Linda

8 Rich in Legumes

9 Sown biodiverse pastures 9 Pastures, because they are grazed Permanent, because they are self-maintained during at least 10 years (in some cases, 25 years) Sown, because improved and selected seeds are introduced (by sowing) Biodiverse, because up to 20 species or varieties are sown Rich in Legumes, because many plants are legumes, which are a natural factory of nitrogen, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers Sown biodiverse (permanent) pastures (rich in legumes) consist of a mixture of up to 20 grasses and legumes

10 Direct environmental services from sown biodiverse pastures 10 carbon sequestration sustainable stocking rate Wild biodiversity productivity SBPPRL No invasion by shrubs flood regulation Decreased erosion SOM Better soil structure water retention

11 GHG balance of sown biodiverse pastures 11 Liming emissions Legume emissions Livestock emissions Decreased use of nitrogen fertilizers Decrease in concentrates carbon sequestration sustainable stocking rate productivity SBPPRL SOM

12 Carbon sequestration in pastures Model Soil Organic Matter (%) Sown biodiverse pastures Natural pastures Years after installation Teixeira, R., Domingos, T., Costa, A.P.S.V., Oliveira, R., Farropas, L., Calouro, F., Barradas, A.M., Carneiro, J.P.B.G. (2008). The dynamics of soil organic matter accumulation in Portuguese grasslands soils. Options méditerranées Sustainable Mediterranean Grasslands and Their Multi Functions, A 79: Modelling of base data shows that sown biodiverse pasture increase their soil organic matter much more and during more time than in natural pastures

13 Economic effects of sown biodiverse pastures 13 Decrease in concentrated feeds economic viability value of products carbon sequestration sustainable stocking rate productivity SBPPRL SOM

14 Results for environmental services and impacts in SBPPRL vs. NG 14 Assessment SOM increases Carbon sequestration Soil protection from erosion Water retention Life cycle effects Biodiversity Economic direct costs Consumer valuation Are SBPPRL better??? With dry matter production of 7 t.ha 1, SBPPRL allow a higher stocking rate than natural grasslands.

15 Project Terraprima PCF Main characteristics 15 Areas contemplated Sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes Rainfed or irrigated Sown in 2009 or 2010 (additionality) Farmer obligations Maintenance and correct management of pastures until 2012 Estimated area and sequestered carbon 42,000 ha (21,000 in 2009 and 21,000 in 2010) 0,9 Mt CO 2 in 3 years The Project is for new sown biodiverse pastures

16 Project Terraprima PCF Monitoring 16 Monitoring system includes visits to all farms double role (technical support/control of practices) Natural conditions are also registered Farmers may have dificulties which lie beyond their control, due to climate conditions (also present in some years of the projects where data was collected) Causal link between farmer activities and carbon sequestration The management obligations were those from the Projects where base data was collected to obtain the sequestration factors Carbon sequestration is accounted by multiplying the area by the respective sequestration factor A specific monitoring scheme was devised

17 Obligations of farmers Correctly install the pasture, with an appropriate mixture of seeds Controlled by field visits and receipts for seeds 2. After the installation of the pasture, do not use nitrogen fertilizers Controlled in number 4 (since nitrogen fertilizers decrease legumes) 3. After the installation of the pasture, do not perform soil tillage Controlled by field visits 4. The pasture must have at least 6 different species or varieties, and must be composed by a minimum of 25% of legumes Controlled by field visits Farmers must comply with 7 rules Farmers are techically supported in the field to comply with the obligations

18 Obligations of farmers Manage livestock according to the level of forage production, and considering the carrying capacity of the pasture Controlled by field visits 6. Have soil samples collected and analysed in the first year of the project, and fertilize soils according to results Controlled through soil analyses and receipts for fertilizers 7. Do not use soil tillage in sowing in steep plots Controlled by field visits Farmers must comply with 7 rules Farmers are techically supported in the field to comply with the obligations

19 Project Terraprima PCF Additionality 19 Financial additionality: Support was calculated from data on the profit of sown biodiverse pastures for each class of farm size Support must be important for the installation in marginal areas, but not crucial for maintenance, which would be a threat to permanence Project additionality: Area considered in the National Inventory/current area of pastures Integration in the National Inventory Report (compatibility) Further contributions to the Inventory: Tracking of existing pastures (each farmer declares already installed pastures control that there are no re-seedings) Estimation of the area that would install pastures (2009/2010) counts for the Inventory, and not the Project

20 Project Terraprima PCF Impact Acumulated area (ha) Objective PNAC Year Baseline With project Existing area

21 Project Terraprima PCF Impact Sequestered carbon (Mt CO2/yr) Objective PNAC Year Existing area Baseline With project

22 Project Terraprima PCF The future 22 Permanence of this pasture system is crucial for the permanence of carbon - will farmers maintain this land use beyond 2012? It is in their best interest to do so Investment already made Benefits demonstrated So far, farmers have been complying with every instruction from Terraprima s technical staff Guarantee that pastures are well installed (crucial for permanence) Knowledge transfer to farmers is effective The obligation to comply with good practices (seven rules) was very important to make farmers aware of the implications of management in terms of carbon There are reasons to believe that pastures will be maintained after 2012

23 23 Carbon sequestration in pastures Benchmarking Are there other measures of carbon sequestration in pastures? Eddy covariance measurements for natural pastures (2 years) Sequestrationof7.0tCO 2.ha -1.a -1 in 2004 Emission of 1.8 t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 in was the driest year in the last 140 years in Portugal Can we compare them to other systems that sequester carbon? No-tillage in permanent crops in Portugal: t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 without crop residues left t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 leaving crop residues Forest sequestration in Portugal: t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 for Montado cork oak forests t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 for pine forests t CO 2.ha -1.a -1 for eucaliptus forests Aires, L.M., C.A. Pio, J.S. Pereira (2008), Carbon dioxide exchange above a Mediterranean C3/C4 grassland during two climatologically contrasting years. Global Change Biology, 14, pp Pereira,J.S.,J.A.Mateus,L.M.Aires,G.Pita,C.Pio,J.S.David,V.Andrade, J. Banza, T. S. David, T. A. Paco, A. Rodrigues (2007), Net ecosystem carbon exchange in three contrasting Mediterranean ecosystems the effect of drought,biogeosciences, 4, pp There are several factors that make Portugal rely on the sequestration factor obtained, which is an underestimate of what is believed to be the highest potential of these pastures

24 Project Terraprima PCF