Climate-smart agriculture (CSA), which encompasses methods to make farming more sustainable and economically, socially and environmentally resilient, can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a new study by the University of São Paulo has found.
Researchers at the university’s Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA-USP) and Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) undertook a systemic review of rural GHG measurements for the study, entitled Greenhouse gas fluxes in Brazilian climate-smart agricultural and livestock systems: A systematic and critical overview, which was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
‘Significant potential’
According to lead author Wanderlei Bieluczyk, the core finding of the research was that “conversion of degraded pastureland and conventional cropland to CSA practices, especially integrated production systems, has significant potential to mitigate GHG emissions”.
This is due to a reduction of emissions of ‘enteric methane’ per product – per kg of beef produced, for example – and the functioning of the soil as a methane sink.
However, the research also points to a lack of data on GHG emissions across all Brazilian biomes, particularly in the north and northeast, emphasising the need for more field studies and better infrastructure.
On-farm measurements
Bieluczyk emphasised the urgent need for frequent on-farm measurements of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as assessments of agroecosystem carbon sequestration.
“This will permit reliable calculations of the carbon balance and remove barriers to certification programs due to the lack of comprehensive data so that CSA systems can be included in the carbon market and other green finance mechanisms,” commented Maurício Roberto Cherubin, second author of the article, a professor at ESALQ-USP, and vice director of CCARBON.
The research could play a critical role in refining Brazil’s national GHG inventory and supporting new policies, projects, and investments in sustainable agriculture, the authors state. Read more here.
