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Preliminary estimates of the potential for carbon mitigation in European soils through no‐till farming
Author(s) -
SMITH PETE.,
POWLSON DAVID S.,
GLENDINING MARGARET J.,
SMITH JO. U.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00185.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , agriculture , european union , carbon sequestration , soil carbon , fossil fuel , soil water , greenhouse gas , carbon fibers , environmental protection , tillage , agronomy , soil science , carbon dioxide , ecology , business , biology , international trade , materials science , composite number , composite material
In this paper we estimate the European potential for carbon mitigation of no‐till farming using results from European tillage experiments. Our calculations suggest some potential in terms of (a) reduced agricultural fossil fuel emissions, and (b) increased soil carbon sequestration. We estimate that 100% conversion to no‐till farming would be likely to sequester about 23 Tg C y –1 in the European Union or about 43 Tg C y –1 in the wider Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union). In addition, up to 3.2 Tg C y –1 could be saved in agricultural fossil fuel emissions. Compared to estimates of the potential for carbon sequestration of other carbon mitigation options, no‐till agriculture shows nearly twice the potential of scenarios whereby soils are amended with organic materials. Our calculations suggest that 100% conversion to no‐till agriculture in Europe could mitigate all fossil fuel‐carbon emissions from agriculture in Europe. However, this is equivalent to only about 4.1% of total anthropogenic CO 2 ‐carbon produced annually in Europe (excluding the former Soviet Union) which in turn is equivalent to about 0.8% of global annual anthropogenic CO 2 ‐carbon emissions.