Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory

What is the research about?

Gasses such as methane and nitrous oxide are an important factor in climate change (alongside carbon dioxide release). Agriculture contributes about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane (from livestock and their manures) and nitrous oxide (released from soil and manure management).

Read more on the external project website

The Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory is a joint initiative from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Welsh Assembly Government.

Main aim

The research aims to track, understand and predict future changes in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The knowledge will be used by farmers and policy makers to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions.

What will the research do?

Improve accuracy and resolution (in both space and time) of current emission factors for the gasses methane (from livestock) and nitrous oxide (from soils)
Increase the resolution of the current inventory by integrating existing data systems and models.

Three central projects are currently under development

1. Data Management

This is an intensive activity to collate existing information and new data from the scientific community to develop a set of revised emission factors. The project will also compile activity data to support the calculation of the inventory. An assessment of uncertainty will be undertaken using methods compliant with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reporting system.

2. Methane Emission Factors

The aim is to look at methane emissions from different livestock types under different farming systems. The project will consider both enteric and manure management emissions. An assessment of how changes in nutrition, rumen additives, genetic improvement, and farming systems can be used to reduce emissions will be undertaken.

3. Nitrous Oxide Emission Factors

The aim is to understand the major factors controlling the amount of nitrous oxide released from soil and produce emission factors that better reflect the range of soils, climate, crop and management within the UK. An assessment of how changes in nutrient management practice can be used to reduce emissions will be undertaken.

This includes

How nitrogen is put into the soil via managed application or deposition of urine and dung by livestock. This includes the source (both organic and synthetic), timing, method of application and management of fertilisers.
The influence of climate, crop, soil types and conditions
The effect of land management under different farming systems and farm business structures.

Tools available

The research will deliver

An improved inventory which will be used by the industry to demonstrate emissions reductions through the industry-led Greenhouse Gas Action Plan.
Improved national-scale models and decision support tools to predict the outcomes of proposed policy instruments
Open source data and models which will be accessible to the wider research community
The physical and cyber infrastructure to cost-effectively host additional research on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

Who will benefit?

Government
The research will provide an improved evidence-base for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Government, and the Northern Irish Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI) to deliver policies that help to reduce emissions from agriculture.

Farming industry
The project will provide information to the farming industry on methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions whilst maintaining productivity.

The farming industry will be closely involved in the project and the development of the inventory. The data generated by the project will be accessible to farmers and will help the sector improve their net environmental performance.

Food industry
In the longer term, an improved inventory will support emissions reductions through the whole food chain. In particular, an improved inventory model will provide more accurate information for carbon footprinting of food products.

PROGRAMME FACTS AND FIGURES

Start and end dates: 1/11/2010 to 30/6/2015

Website: http://www.ghgplatform.org.uk/