A survey of its output between 2007 and 2009 reveals that the GRDC managed to insert a negative story about soil carbon trading in every second edition of its newsletter.
Carbon Sequestration – Caution Needed - July 10th 2007
The Grains Council of Australia says that Australian grain producers … are unlikely to benefit from a carbon credit or trading scheme, due to the low carbon sequestration potential of most of the soils in grain producing areas. The Manager of the Grains Council / GRDC ‘Farming Practices for Sustainability’ project, Alan Umbers, said carbon in soils was a complex and easily misunderstood subject.
Ground Cover Issue 70 - September - October 2007
27.08.07 Soil Carbon - Carbon study shifts focus to nitrogen Sequestering carbon, by reducing tillage, to participate in carbon-trading schemes would provide relatively small returns for Australian graingrowers, modelling research has shown.
Ground Cover Issue 70 - September - October 2007
27.08.07 Soil Carbon - Carbon trading brought down to earth
Graingrowers need to be realistic about the opportunities and risks presented by carbon trading, says Dr Michael Robinson, Land and Water Australia executive director and former CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting. Dr Robinson echoed an overriding sentiment that soil carbon sequestration was unlikely to play a large role in carbon trading schemes.
Ground Cover Issue 75 - July - August 2008
01.07.08 Popular carbon needs clear intentions
Carbon is a popular topic lately – but should the focus be soil improvement or commercial sequestering in a future carbon trade? The options for Mallee growers
Ground Cover Issue 76 - September - October 2008
01.09.08 The hidden costs of carbon sequestration
…this estimated value could easily be out by a factor of two. Nevertheless, it casts considerable doubt on the viability of carbon trading schemes based on humus, the stable fraction of soil organic matter.
Ground Cover Issue 77 - November - December 2008
01.11.08 Doubts linger over tradeability of stored soil carbon
The workshop concluded that the grains industry could sequester more carbon, but prospects are limited by rainfall (there is more scope in higher-rainfall zones).
Ground Cover Issue 80 - May - June 2009
01.05.09 Carbon trading scheme explained
So carbon sequestration (or building organic matter) in agricultural soils under normal production systems is still going to be about its agronomic benefits, rather than any major windfall gains from the scheme.
Big Bucks From Carbon Sequestration - Fact or Fiction? (West, 27 February 2009)
27.02.09
With carbon credits in the news and Australia developing policies to meet its Kyoto targets, many farmers are intrigued by soil carbon’s potential to not only boost soil productivity but put money in the bank by selling carbon credits.
But just how realistic is that goal?
Dr Jeff Baldock of CSIRO Land and Water, SA, will address this and other aspects of soil carbon in the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) supported WA Agribusiness Crop Updates at Burswood Entertainment Complex, February 24 and 25.
Crop Updates are co-ordinated by the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) and Dr Baldock is being sponsored by the GRDC.
Dr Baldock will examine the functions of organic carbon and organic matter in soils, including its chemical, physical and biological properties. He will also discuss calculating changes in soil organic carbon content, including using simulation models to predict the outcomes of management practices on soil carbon content.
Carbon Accounting a Work in Progress (National, 11 November 2008)
11.11.08
Agriculture won’t be in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until at least 2015, but it was much discussed at a GRDC workshop about on-farm carbon accounting.
Dr Martin Blumenthal, GRDC Manager, Agronomy, Soils and Environment, said workshop participants saw the need for a common terminology and agreed protocols for measuring and analysing carbon given the climate of uncertainty.
“Better data on farms’ greenhouse emissions is needed and different accounting methods should be piloted and assessed,” Dr Blumenthal said.
“Whatever the carbon trading implications, increasing soil carbon makes sense in its own right.
“Carbon credits are like FlyBuy Points – a nice bonus, but don’t go shopping just to get them,” he said.
The workshop proceedings are available by visiting the GRDC website at www.grdc.com.au and using the search ‘carbon workshop’.
GRDC Code: PR160
Carbon Counts (West, 19 March 2008)
19.03.08
At the recent GRDC and DAFWA supported 2008 WA Agribusiness Crop Updates, consultant to the GRDC Farming Practices Initiative, Alan Umbers said that Australian rainfed cropping soils were generally low in carbon.
Organic carbon comprised about one per cent of the top 10 centimetres of soil and was often lower in many areas, for example the mallee and sandplain soils of WA.
Mr Umbers said that to increase soil carbon to levels of three per cent or more, for example, would require the annual addition of significant amounts of organic matter.
"From my research, it seems that only in zones where rainfall exceeds 550 millimetres and there is high biomass production, is there potential to increase soil carbon through conservation farming practices," he said.
Even with growers using best practice, rates of sequestration would be slow, taking perhaps 20 to 30 years to reach a new equilibrium.
For further information, see Research Update - Carbon in Australian Cropping Soils http://www.grdc.com.au/director/events/researchupdates?pageNumber=3
Times of Change on the Climate Front (National, 2 May 2008)
02.05.08
As time passes, language evolves to accommodate new words and phrases to describe new developments and situations.
Phrases such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon trading are a few that come to mind and are now used to discuss climate change and its influence on the agricultural sector.
Carbon in Australian cropping soils, which are naturally dynamic and cyclical, is increased by inputs of organic matter and is highly dependent on plant growth, soil microbial activity and seasonal conditions.
Total soil carbon is affected by farming practices and natural events such as drought or heavy rainfall. Drought, for example, causes carbon loss through soil surface exposure and lowered inputs from biomass.
The Australian agricultural sector in general and grains industry in particular, are net emitters of GHGs.
Worth noting is that emissions have decreased markedly in recent years with reduced tillage and fuel use and better nitrogen fertiliser management.
A paper presented by Alan Umbers of the GRDC Farming Practices Initiative at the GRDC-supported 2008 WA Agribusiness Crop Updates, provided a ‘big-picture’ view of soil carbon from soil element to tradable commodity.
Australian rainfed cropping soils are generally low in carbon – frequently about one per cent in the top 10 centimetres.
Significant amounts of organic matter must be annually added to increase soil organic carbon substantially above these levels.
However, sequestration of soil carbon is not infinite – a new equilibrium level is reached after perhaps 20 to 30 years – based on the cyclical nature of carbon, where farming practices and systems determine the balance.
Understanding soil carbon dynamics and the other greenhouse gas of interest, nitrous oxide, is difficult in a biological system such as grain production.
According to Mr Umbers’ research, where there is high biomass production, perennials in the system and more than 550 millimetres of annual rainfall, soil carbon can increase with conservation farming practices. Most of Australia’s grain crops are in drier areas.
Finally, he cautions growers interested in carbon trading schemes, as emissions and sequestration will be considered and participants may need contracts to verify their sequestration and emission levels.
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