Agriculture, land use and the path to net zero

Description

It’s been suggested that farming contributes to around 12% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with land use associated with agriculture (such as deforestation to clear land for crop production) increasing this overall share to 25% of global GHG emissions. As the climate change emergency continues to threaten global food production and security, there is a growing need to modify or relocate existing farming systems to reduce their environmental impact and ensure a safe, sustainable and sufficient supply of food.

Agriculture, land use and the path to net zero provides a comprehensive overview of the role of agriculture in contributing to GHG emissions, including the role of farming in generating different GHGs and how these can be reduced. It also assesses ways agricultural land use can be used to offset emissions through different carbon sequestration strategies (whether through changing farming practices or restoring landscapes to optimise carbon storage). The book then reviews the challenges and opportunities faced by different regions in developing appropriate land use strategies for agriculture to achieve the goal of net zero.

Table of contents

Part 1 The problem
1.The climate problem and the role of agriculture: David Reay, University of Edinburgh, UK;
2.Key issues and challenges in accounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: Don Wuebbles, University of Illinois, USA;
3.Sources of on-farm carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and sequestration: Apisit Boupai, James Hutton Institute/University of Edinburgh, UK;
4.Sources of on-farm nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions: Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Aarhus University, Denmark;
5.Sources of methane (CH4) from livestock and land use: Frank Mitloehner, University of California-Davis, USA;
6.Land use and the global carbon cycle: Syvlia Vetter, University of Aberdeen, UK;

Part 2 Solutions
7.Mitigating nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture: Cecile de Kein, AgResearch, New Zealand;
8.Mitigating methane (CH4) emissions from agriculture: Carol-Anne Duthie, SRUC, UK;
9.Increasing carbon sinks: options for soil carbon sequestration: Bas van Wesemael, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium;
10.Farmer decision making and climate change: Andrew Barnes, SRUC, UK;

Part 3 National and regional profiles
11.Africa: climate change, agriculture and land use: Ngoni Chirinda, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco;
12.Australia and New Zealand: climate change, agriculture and land use: Harry Clark, New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, New Zealand;
13.Europe: climate change, agriculture and land use: Jørgen E. Olesen, Aarhus University, Denmark;
14.North America: climate change, agriculture and land use: Erin Daly, University of Guelph, Canada;
15.South America: climate change, agriculture and land use: Patricia Rici, INTA, Argentina;
16.East Asia: climate change, agriculture and land use: Xiaotang Ju, Hainan University, China;
17.South Asia: climate change, agriculture and land use: Abdul Wakeel, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan;
18.Global implications for agriculture and land use change to achieve net zero: Gerard Ros, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands;