Climate Change in California

Climate Change in California
Author: Fredrich Kahrl
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520953800

California is synonymous with opportunity, prosperity, and natural beauty, but climate change will certainly influence the state’s future. Changes will affect the economy, natural resources, public health, agriculture, and the livelihoods of its residents. But how big is the risk? How will Californians adapt? What will it cost? This book is the first to ask and attempt to answer these and other questions so central to the long-term health of the state. While California is undeniably unique and diverse, the challenges it faces will be mirrored everywhere. This succinct and authoritative review of the latest evidence suggests feasible changes that can sustain prosperity, mitigate adverse impacts of climate change, and stimulate research and policy dialog across the globe. The authors argue that the sooner society recognizes the reality of climate change risk, the more effectively we can begin adaptation to limit costs to present and future generations. They show that climate risk presents a new opportunity for innovation, supporting aspirations for prosperity in a lower carbon, climate altered future where we can continue economic progress without endangering the environment and ourselves.

The Potential of U.S. Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect

The Potential of U.S. Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect
Author: John M. Kimble
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 1998-08-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781575041124

This report assesses the potential of U.S. cropland to sequester carbon, concluding that properly applied soil restorative processes and best management practices can help mitigate the greenhouse effect by decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gases from U.S. agricultural activities and by making U.S. cropland a major sink for carbon sequestration. Topics include: Describe the greenhouse processes and global tends in emissions as well as the three principal components of anthropogenic global warming potential Present data on U.S. emissions and agriculture's related role Examines the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in soils of the U.S. and its loss due to cultivation Provides a reference for the magnitude of carbon sequestration potential Analyzes the primary processes governing greenhouse gas emission from the pedosphere Establishes a link between SOC content and soil quality Outlines strategies for mitigating emissions from U.S. cropland Discusses soil erosion management Assesses the potential of using cropland to create biomass for direct fuel to produce power Details the potential for sequestering carbon by intensifying prime agricultural land The Potential of U.S. Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect provides an exceptional framework for the adoption of science-based management methods on U.S. cropland, encouraging appropriate agricultural practices for the sustainable use of our natural resources and the improvement of our nation's environment.

Sustainable Intensification

Sustainable Intensification
Author: Jules N. Pretty
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2012-06-25
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136529276

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

Predicting Carbon Sequestration for Six Periods of English Agriculture

Predicting Carbon Sequestration for Six Periods of English Agriculture
Author: Paul Igboji
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2016-07-31
Genre:
ISBN: 9781536824605

Several process-based models exist for the assessment of soil, water and air nutrient dynamics. These models have been developed after several years of continuous monitoring, testing, and re-validation. Two of the most widely used models, the CENTURY 4.0 and the RothC models have been used extensively. Modelling helps to understand the principal mechanisms affecting ecosystem functioning, and the causes of disturbances to them. They are essential for long term predictions and in making recommendations aimed at reducing harmful effects and preventing environmental disturbances. Many authors have demonstrated the benefits of using computer models in agriculture . The CENTURY model version 4.0 embodies the best understanding to date of the biogeochemistry of C, N, P, and S. The primary purposes of the model are to provide a tool for ecosystem analysis, to test the consistency of data, and to evaluate the effects of changes in management and climate on ecosystems. The CENTURY Agroecosystem Version 4.0 was developed to deal with a wide range of cropping system rotations and tillage practices, for the systematic analysis of the effects of management, and global change on productivity, and sustainability of agroecosystems. Version 4.0 integrates the effects of climate and soil driven variables including agricultural management to simulate C, N, and H2O dynamics in the soil-plant system. Simulation of complex agricultural management systems including crop rotations, tillage practices, fertilization, irrigation, grazing, and harvest methodologies are now possible in this enhanced release of the model. The CENTURY model is a general FORTRAN model of the plant-soil ecosystem that has been used to represent C and nutrient dynamics for different types of ecosystems (grasslands, forest, crops, and savannahs). Aspects of the current version are discussed in Metherell (1992) while a more detailed description of the earlier development of the CENTURY model can be found in Parton et al. (1983), Parton et al. (1987), and Sanford et al. (1991). SOM changes slowly in temperate regions, following changes in land use and management, and it often takes over 20 years to observe a significant change in soil content. In a series of experiments based at Rothamsted different land use and management treatments including arable crops, grasslands, ley periods and woodland, have been studied. Samples of soil have been taken over the last 150 years and stored in the Rothamsted Archive. By measuring the C content of these archived soils, long-term changes in soil C are recorded. The winter wheat experiment at Broadbank has been a useful example of how arable soil C content can be changed over decades by different land management practices. SOM on plots where no applications of mineral or organic fertilisers have been made (nil plots) has remained at a low level reaching equilibrium between inputs from crop debris and losses through decomposition. The addition of NPK fertilisers increased crop growth and hence crop residue inputs to soil, slightly increasing SOM content. However the greatest increase in SOM content has been achieved by adding 35 t ha-1 of FYM. This has not only increased crop growth and residue inputs but provided a huge input of OM to the soil in its own right (Falloon and Poulton, 2005). Data from the long term experiments at Rothamsted has been used to develop the Rothamsted C model known as "RothC model" which is used all over the world and in natural CO2 inventory calculations. Data from the Broadbank experiment also contributes to the Global Soil Organic Matter Network (known as SOMNET) which aid calculations of C-sequestration potential for different land management scenarios in Europe and UK (Fallon and Poulton, 2005). SOMNET was established during 1995 to help predict the effects of changes in land use, agricultural practice and climate on SOM. The book is outcome of predicting carbon sequestration up to 2055 for English agriculture.

Carbon Management in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Terrestrial Systems

Carbon Management in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Terrestrial Systems
Author: Probir K. Ghosh
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2019-11-23
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9811396280

Soil organic carbon (SOC), a key component of the global carbon (C) pool, plays an important role in C cycling, regulating climate, water supplies and biodiversity, and therefore in providing the ecosystem services that are essential to human well-being. Most agricultural soils in temperate regions have now lost as much as 60% of their SOC, and as much as 75% in tropical regions, due to conversion from natural ecosystems to agricultural uses and mainly due to continuous soil degradation. Sequestering C can help to offset C emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other C-emitting activities, while also enhancing soil quality and long-term agronomic productivity. However, developing effective policies for creating terrestrial C sinks is a serious challenge in tropical and subtropical soils, due to the high average annual temperatures in these regions. It can be accomplished by implementing improved land management practices that add substantial amounts of biomass to soil, cause minimal soil disturbance, conserve soil and water, improve soil structure, and enhance soil fauna activity. Continuous no-till crop production is arguably the best example. These soils need technically sound and economically feasible strategies to sustainably enhance their SOC pools. Hence, this book provides comprehensive information on SOC and its management in different land-use systems, with a focus on preserving soils and their ecosystem services. The only book of its kind, it offers a valuable asset for students, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the sustainable development and management of natural resources at the global level.

Earthworm Management in Tropical Agroecosystems

Earthworm Management in Tropical Agroecosystems
Author: Patrick Lavelle
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1999
Genre: Science
ISBN:

This book covers all aspects of the ecology of tropical earthworm communities and their effects on soil properties and plant growth. It examines the latest methods and technologies for their management and includes work from leading experts in Europe, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia.

Global Climate Change and California

Global Climate Change and California
Author: Ann Foley Scheuring
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 9780520075559

The California Energy Commission presents information about global climate change and its affects on California. The commission offers links to FAQs, announcements, workshop and meeting information, documents related to climate change, and other materials. The California Climate Action Registry was established to help form greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

Agricultural Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil

Agricultural Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil
Author: John M. Kimble
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 538
Release: 2016-04-19
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1420032291

The potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change is one factor driving agricultural policy development of programs that might pay farmers for practices with a high potential to sequester carbon. With chapters by economists, policy makers, farmers, land managers, energy company representatives, and soil scientists, Agricu