[USCC] carbon sequestration via composting

[Matthew Cotton]

Brenda -

One of the best sources on this currently is a Life-Cycle Assessment  
done by the Recycled Organics Unit of the University of New South  
Wales in Australia (Available as a download here: http:// 
www.recycledorganics.com/publications/reports/lca/lca.htm)

They looked at carbon sequestration in composted soil amendment  
applied to cotton (the crop) and composted mulch applied to grapes.   
In cotton, they report

• "Sequestering about 2.9-5.9 tons of carbon per hectare after 10  
years. This figure may be taken for carbon accounting process.

• Sequestering about 1.8-3.5 tons of carbon per hectare after 100  
years. This figure is relevant to LCI studies."

For grapes:

• "Sequestering about 11.56 tons of carbon per hectare after 10  
years. This figure may be taken for carbon accounting process.

• Sequestering about 7.056 tons of carbon per hectare after 100  
years. This figure is relevant to LCI studies."

There is more relevant data in Section 7.6 of the report. Keep in  
mind that compost feedstock, how it was composted, soil type, crop  
type, growing practices, and climate probably all play a role in  
relatively long-term carbon sequestration in soil.

The good news is that while the GHG gains one gets from carbon  
sequestration may not be that great (compared to the methane  
avoidance) adding compost to soil has so many other benefits, many of  
which have not been quantified adequately.

Hope this is useful.

Matthew Cotton
Integrated Waste Management Consulting, LLC
19375 Lake City Road
Nevada City, CA  95959
(530) 265-4560
Fax (530) 265-4547
matt at mattcotton.com
www.mattcotton.com

Join us at the US Composting Council's 16th Annual Conference & Trade  
Show, February 9 - 12th, 2008 at the Oakland Marriott City Center,  
Oakland, California.  Check it out at www.compostingcouncil.org


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 10850 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mailman.cloudnet.com/pipermail/compost/attachments/20080118/d9d7421d/pastedGraphic-0001.tiff
-------------- next part --------------

Carbon Sequestration: Position of the Soil Science Society of America
Increased long term (20-50 year) sequestration of carbon in soils,  
plants and plant products will benefit the environment and  
agriculture. Crop, grazing, and forestlands can be managed for both  
economic productivity and carbon sequestration. In many settings this  
dual management approach can be achieved by applying currently  
recognized best management practices such as conservation tillage,  
efficient nutrient management, erosion control, use of cover crops  
and restoration of degraded soils. In addition, conversion of  
marginal arable land to forest or grassland can rapidly increase soil  
carbon sequestration. Research is needed that better quantifies  
carbon sequestration obtained by these practices; this research  
should culminate in a scientifically defensible soil carbon  
sequestration accounting system that also would be suitable to the  
business sector, should soil carbon become a marketable commodity.  
Implementation of these practices will integrate a wide range of  
disciplines in the basic, agricultural, silvicultural, and  
environmental sciences as well as in the social, economic and  
political sciences. SSSA advocates a global increase in soil organic  
matter as a timely benefit to global well being by reducing the rate  
of increase in atmospheric CO2 and increasing the productivity of  
soil, particularly in many areas with degraded soils.

What is carbon sequestration?

Carbon sequestration refers to the storage of carbon in a stable  
solid form. It occurs through direct and indirect fixation of  
atmospheric CO2. Direct soil carbon sequestration occurs by inorganic  
chemical reactions that convert CO2 into soil inorganic carbon  
compounds such as calcium and magnesium carbonates. Direct plant  
carbon sequestration occurs as plants photosynthesize atmospheric CO2  
into plant biomass. Subsequently, some of this plant biomass is  
indirectly sequestered as soil organic carbon (SOC) during  
decomposition processes. The amount of carbon sequestered at a site  
reflects the long-term balance between carbon uptake and release  
mechanisms. Many agronomic, forestry, and conservation practices,  
including best management practices, lead to a beneficial net gain in  
carbon fixation in soil.

What is the relationship between carbon sequestration, land  
management and other environmental factors?

The implementation of effective land management practices, especially  
through stewardship activities such as the Conservation Reserve  
Program, Wetland Reserve Program, Forestry Incentive Program and  
conservation tillage, lead to both increased above ground carbon  
sequestration and to increased SOC. Soils gaining SOC are also  
generally gaining in other attributes that enhance plant productivity  
and environmental quality. Increases in SOC generally improve soil  
structure, increase soil porosity and water holding capacity, as well  
as improve biological health for a myriad of life forms in soil.

In general there is a favorable interplay between carbon  
sequestration and various recommended land management practices  
related to soil fertility (e.g., adding mineral fertilizers, manures,  
sludges and biosolids), tillage, grazing, and forestry. Recommended  
agronomic, grazing land and forestry practices also enhance land  
sustainability, wildlife habitat and water quality. In most  
locations, especially environmentally sensitive settings, these  
practices also result in decreased water and wind erosion that  
degrade soil carbon stocks. The same positive relationship that  
exists between carbon sequestration and recommended land management  
can, in some settings, improve water quality and aid wildlife habitat  
restoration.

Why include soils in carbon sequestration?

Worldwide, SOC in the top 1 meter of soil comprises about 3/4 of the  
earth's terrestrial carbon; nevertheless, there is tremendous  
potential to sequester additional carbon in soil. For example, many  
cropland soils of the United States have lost as much as 50% of their  
original SOC due to the effects of land clearing and tillage. Such  
conventional farming practices "burn" SOC just as we burn fossil  
fuels today. However, in the case of SOC this historical decline can  
be reversed, which is not the case for fossil fuel reserves. With  
proper management the US can put back much of the SOC depleted over  
the past two centuries. Improved management of crop, grazing, and  
forest lands is estimated to potentially offset 30,000-60,000 million  
metric tons of the carbon released by fossil fuel combustion over the  
next 50 years.

What else do we know today about US emissions and US sequestration of  
carbon?

CO2 emissions make-up more than 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions  
in the US with the annual input of C in the atmosphere being about  
1,900 million metric tons. Most of this C is a product of burning  
fossil fuels (from USDOE).

US forestlands currently fix about 250 million metric tons of  
atmospheric C each year (from USDA-FS and USDOE).

US cropland can sequester about 75-200 million metric tons of  
atmospheric C per year by using current best management practices. US  
grazing land can sequester 30-90 million metric tons of atmospheric C  
annually by controlled grazing, fire management, and by use of  
fertilizers and improved cultivars (from USDA Global Change Fact Sheet).

Progressive research on carbon sequestration is ongoing and a  
priority in a number of federal and state agencies as well as many  
universities with soil science, agronomy, forestry and allied  
departments.

What still needs to be known?

Improvement in monitoring and verification protocols for carbon  
sequestration in soil-plant ecosystems is needed for quantitative  
economic and policy analyses. These protocols need to be  
quantitatively defensible and readily applicable to fields and  
watersheds with differing land uses and weather conditions. Such  
protocols must be acceptable, both domestically and internationally,  
to scientists, policy makers, landowners, and business groups. These  
protocols must be suitable for use by employees of government  
agencies and licensed professionals.

Practical techniques to quantify the overall net beneficial impact of  
agricultural and silvicultural practices on all greenhouse gases,  
including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), are needed. Other  
beneficial services derived from improved land practices, such as  
changes in soil quality, productivity, water and air quality, and  
erosion must also be recognized and evaluated. Recommended carbon  
sequestration practices must show benefit for the total environment  
from a whole ecosystem accounting perspective.

Plant breeders and physiologists must be involved to insure that  
cultivars developed for economic and biological yields also improve  
soil. The biological yield of above and below ground biomass should  
have properties, such as elevated lignin and suberin contents that  
promote accumulation of stable carbon forms in soil and in plant  
products.

The potential impact of climate variability on the stability of  
sequestered carbon in soils and long-lived plants must be evaluated.  
Determination of suitable land management practices is needed to  
minimize risk of carbon release from soil in response to changes in  
regional weather patterns such as El Niño and La Niña.

Long-term studies are needed to insure that currently effective  
carbon sequestration practices result in stable carbon forms for the  
long term (at least 20-50 years).

A soil carbon economy: A timely opportunity for all Nations

The economic value of soil carbon needs to be assessed with  
consideration for both onsite and offsite effects. Procedures are  
needed for a defensible soil carbon accounting system, and policies  
need to be established that provide incentives for net soil carbon  
sequestration at the global scale. Such policies can provide  
financial incentives for the restoration of degraded and impoverished  
soils, while achieving reductions in the rate of buildup of  
atmospheric CO2 levels. Enhancing the SOC pool through global and  
national policy incentives may be especially beneficial to improving  
agronomic productivity, enhancing food security and reducing poverty  
in countries with degraded soils, thus providing splendid benefits to  
humankind. The dynamics of carbon sequestration processes must be  
evaluated in the context of local soil and crop attributes including  
biogeochemical cycles and soil spatial variability. Accounting for  
variability of soil and plant processes is needed at a range of  
scales from fields to watersheds and from regional to continental  
scales. Spatial and temporal variability of soil C is known to be  
high in many areas. Any soil C commodity price structure will need to  
be conservatively discounted for soil C variability.

Incentives and plans for adoption of sound technical practices are  
needed for farmers, ranchers, foresters and other land managers.  
Implementation of such plans will require better understanding of  
rural society and the market incentives needed for adopting changes  
in farming, grazing, and forestry practices that benefit all sectors  
of society.

Advancement in knowledge through targeted research will permit  
refined quantitative assessment of the total carbon sequestration  
potential of the US and our global partners.

Prepared by SSSA Ad Hoc Committee S893

Lee Burras, Iowa State University (Chair)
H.H. Cheng, University of Minnesota
John M. Kimble, USDA-NRCS
David E. Kissel, The University of Georgia
Rattan Lal, The Ohio State University
Robert J. Luxmoore, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Maurice J. Mausbach, USDA-NRCS
Charles W. Rice, Kansas State University
Goro Uehara, University of Hawaii
Lawrence P. Wilding, Texas A&M University
Approved by SSSA Board of Directors

Robert J. Luxmoore
SSSA President
October 25, 2001
Date

On Jan 17, 2008, at 1:48 PM, Brenda Platt wrote:

> I am writing a booklet tentatively called, Stop Wasting the  
> Climate, and
> need some good citations on carbon sequestration via composting.
>
> Can any one point me to data showing how much of the carbon in  
> composted
> organics typically gets sequestered in the compost product vs C02?
>
> I found one article that indicated approx. half the carbon is  
> sequestered.
> This article cited Elliot Epstein's 1997 book, The Science of  
> Composting,
> (pp. 487).  Can someone confirm this?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Brenda
>
> -- 
> Brenda Platt
> Institute for Local Self-Reliance
> 927 15th Street, NW, 4th Fl
> Washington, DC  20005
> 202-898-1610 ext. 230
> www.ilsr.org
> _______________________________________
> Join us at the US Composting Council's 16th Annual Conference &  
> Trade Show
> Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CA | February 9-12, 2008.
> The National forum for those involved in the development and  
> expansion of the composting and organics recycling industry.
> Conference Highlights, Registration forms, Exhibitor information  
> and Sponsorship Opportunities available at the USCC website:  
> www.compostingcouncil.org or call the USCC at 631.737.4931
> ______________________________________________________________________ 
> ________
> Compost maillist - compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
> http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/compost
> _______________________________________
> This list is a service provided by the US Composting Council (USCC).
> (c) Copyright 2004 United States Composting Council - All rights  
> reserved
>
> Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the USCC, the  
> Foundation, or the Board of Directors.
>
> Non-members of USCC are encouraged to join the Council through its  
> website at: http://www.compostingcouncil.org/membership.cfm
>
> Members posting CC copies to the list and other addresses may have  
> their posting privileges suspended. For discussion list policies  
> and information regarding subscribing, unsubscribing, digest or  
> other options, go to: http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/ 
> compost
>
> For additional help in unsubcribing or to report bugs and problems,  
> send a message to the List Manager at  
> compostlistmanager at compostingcouncil.org