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Project Code [2023RP948]
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Project title
Carbon sequestration from Agricultural soils from different Land-uses, Managements and Soil types
Primary Funding Agency
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Co-Funding Organisation(s)
Lead Organisation
Teagasc
Lead Applicant
Not listed
Project Abstract
The 2021 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act sets out in law Ireland�s commitment to reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The sectoral emissions targets set by the Government in 2022 include a 25% reduction (5.75 Mt CO2e) in emissions from the Agriculture sector. In the Irish inventory, the largest Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) emissions source is grassland which emitted 7.6 Mt CO2eq in 2021. The 3.9 million hectares of grassland on mineral soils were estimated in the national inventory to sequester c. 2 Mt CO2eq. However, there was also approx. 337,000 hectares of managed pasture on drained peat soils which were calculated to emit c. 9.6 Mt CO2eq. These values are derived from Tier 1 default emission factors by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and thus represents a large uncertainty on what the actual emission and sink potential of Irish agricultural soils are. Therefore, there is a necessity for measured CO2 flux data and measured soil organic carbon (SOC) stock data from different soil types, managements and land-uses. This would enable Ireland to refine its national GHG inventory for land use factors (LU) and land management factors (LM). The aims of this project are to quantify the effect of soils (mineral and peat), management (grazing intensities and sward composition) and land-use (grassland and cropland) on carbon sequestration. The project will use an ensemble of techniques including eddy covariance to measure ecosystem scale fluxes of CO2 and CH4 which in combination with management, soil carbon stocks and biomass data will allow the construction of ecosystem scale carbon balances. Additionally, stable isotope analyses will be conducted to better understand soil water cycling and its role in GHG dynamics and carbon sequestration.
Grant Approved
�1,246,247.94
Research Hub
Climate Change
Research Theme
1. Carbon Stocks, GHG Emissions, Sinks and Management Options
Initial Projected Completion Date
30/06/2028