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Home  News LIFE+ Agricarbon project
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LIFE+ Agricarbon project |
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ECAF is proud beneficiary of the brand new LIFE + Agricarbon project "Sustainable Agriculture in Carbon Arithmetics".
 
Project objectives:
Conservation Agriculture (CA), based on a total or partial reduction of in-field ploughing tasks, keeping a protective plant cover on the soil, and Precision Agriculture (PA), in which there is a more efficient use of inputs by reducing the overlaps between the different machine passes and site-specific variable distribution techniques, constitute a set of sustainable agricultural techniques, which, through energy-saving and the sink effect of atmospheric carbon, contribute to a notable reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, this being reinforced by the synergies produced by their joint use. Promoting their dissemination and demonstration will significantly aid the EU to fulfill its objectives to reduce GHGs and increase energy efficiency, both by 20%, by the year 2020.
The benefits of CA in relation to stopping erosion, fighting against desertification and improving air and water quality, have been widely demonstrated in many research works. The advantages of CA and PA techniques for climate change mitigation and energy saving and efficiency have been the theme of many investigations made in the EU and elsewhere in the world. Some related to climate change are, in Spain, those by Ordoñez et al (2008) and Álvaro-Fuentes et al (2007), and in the U.S., by Reicosky (1997) and Lal (2007). Some have related CO2 emission diminution to the increase in the organic matter content produced in soils under CA cultivation (Tebruegge, 2001). The energy savings achieved both in CA and PA, mainly derived from an efficient use of machinery and reduction in inputs, especially gasoil and fertilizers, due to the drastic diminution in work time for crop establishment and management, added to the effects from the reduction in atmospheric carbon emissions and sink mentioned above, make these agronomic practices a very useful tool in the fight against climate change in the agricultural sphere, which originate 10% of the GHGs in Europe (EU data).
This project aims to encourage the progressive establishment of sustainable agricultural techniques (CA and PA), contributing to GHG emission decreases and the adaptation of the agricultural system to the new climate conditionants found in global warming. Also, making available to European and National authorities sufficient knowledge about these practices could serve to set up environment policies in the agricultural domain, with the two-fold reducing and adapting intention indicated in the European Commission Communications COM (2007) 2 final ´Limiting Global Climate Change to 2 degree Celsious- The way ahead for 2020 and beyond’ and COM(2007) 354 final, Green Paper ‘Adapting to climate change in Europe-options for EU action’ and in Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol on changes in agricultural soil uses.
Consequently, this project establishes a series of objectives based on a logical knowledge sequence (demonstration and evaluation of the techniques’ benefits appearing in the bibliography through the initiation, compilation of the information generated and its subsequent dissemination) specified as:
- Demonstration of adaptability of herbaceous crops planted under CA to new climate scenarios derived from global warming.
- Showing the agricultural sector that these sustainable and atmospheric GHG concentration- reducing techniques are at least equally productive and more efficient in the use of inputs than conventional agricultural techniques.
- Setting up of a digital platform to evaluate CO2 emissions and energy consumption in farms based on the area’s climate characteristics, the crops grown and the agricultural practices employed.
- Generation of an extensive knowledge bank of the beneficial effects on the climate change of the establishment of sustainable agriculture techniques like CA and PA by the reduction of atmospheric GHG concentrations.
- Promotion and dissemination of CA and PA in order to supply sufficient information and tools to agricultural sector agents (public administrations, private companies, research and farming organizations) for them to take suitable measures to favour the progressive establishment of sustainable agricultural practices.
Actions and means involved:
Objectives 1 and 2:
Based on the establishment of a network of three pilot farms, with 90 hectares of demonstration farms of herbaceous crops under two soil management systems (conventional agriculture tillage vs. CA supported by PA) studies detailed below will be made to provide sufficient information to serve as a basis for technical and legislative decision-making.
Objective 3:
Based on studies of GHG emission reduction resulting from actions derived from the establishment of the first two objectives, on the web site disseminating this LIFE+ project, a space specializing in evaluating energy and CO2 emissions will be reserved for farms, with action protocols set up for this purpose, thus supplying information to farmers wishing to start CA and PA techniques.
Objectives 4 and 5:
To spread all the results produced from carrying out this LIFE + project, dissemination actions at different levels (practical, technical and scientific) will be accomplished. For practical applications of sustainable agricultural techniques, audiovisual material and diverse technical guides will be published, and technical training and countryside day courses orientated towards the training of farmers, agricultural company technicians and legislators will be held. Additionally, it is proposed to hold a congress at a European level to convey to the scientific and technical community the results of the project and thus promote more research in public and private centres.
Each of the actions described is specified as follows:
Preparatory actions
Each action carried out by its members will be integrated into setting up the project:
- Establishment of techniques in demonstration farms: search for and selection of pilot farms, setting up of a protocol for the actions and planning of trials to be realized.
- Studies prior to undertaking the actions contemplated in the project (technical and logistic needs, and infrastructures necessary for the development of communication and dissemination actions).
Project actions
- Verification and demonstration of adaptive capacity of CA and PA to the expected climate change variations by the evaluation of grain yields and quality parameters, and of the moisture content in the soil (Objectives 1 and 2).
- CO2 emission and energy evaluation of farms via a virtual management digital platform through a web page. (Objective 3).
- Verification of the sink effect of CA, by the study of carbon sequester rates from laboratory analyses of the organic matter content evolution in soil samples taken at different depths (Objective 4).
Duration
1 january 2010 – 31 december 2013 (4 years).
Budget
- Total: 2 674 653 €
- Elegible costs: 2 648 815 €
- European Commission’s contribution: 1 237 262 €
Participants
www.aeac-sv.org http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/agriculturaypesca/ifapa/ - University of Córdoba (Spain)
www.uco.es www.ecaf.org |
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