Coupling biophysical and micro-economic models to assess the effect of mitigation measures on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

International audienceAgricultural soils are a major source of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Because N2O emissions strongly depend on soil type, climate, and crop management, their inventory requires the combination of biophysical and economic modeling, to simulate farmers' behavior. Here, we coupled a biophysical soil-crop model, CERES-EGS, with an economic farm type supply model, AROPAj, at the regional scale in northern France. Response curves of N2O emissions to fertilizer nitrogen (Nf) inputs were generated with CERES-EGC, and linearized to obtain emission factors. The latter ranged from 0.001 to 0.0225 kg N2O-N kg-1 Nf, depending on soil and crop type, compared to the fixed 0.0125 value of the IPCC guidelines. The modeled emission factors were fed into the economic model AROPAj which relates farm-level GHG emissions to production factors. This resulted in a N2O efflux 20% lower than with the default IPCC method. The costs of abating GHG emissions from agriculture were calculated using a first-best tax on GHG emissions, and a second-best tax on their presumed factors (livestock size and fertilizer inputs). The first-best taxation was relatively efficient, achieving an 8\% reduction with a tax of 11 euro/t-CO2-equivalent, compared to 68 euro/t-CO2eq for the same target with the second-best scheme

Prediction of soil water retention properties after stratification by combining texture, bulk density and the type of horizon

International audienceAmong the numerous pedotransfer functions (PTFs) published, class-PTfs have received little attention because their accuracy is often considered limited. However, recent studies show that performance of class-PTFs can be similar to the more popular continuous-PTFs. In this study, we compare the performance of PTFs that were derived from a set of 456 horizons collected in France grouped by combinations of texture, bulk density and type of horizon (topsoil and subsoil). The performance of these class-PTFs was validated against water retained at −33 and −1500 kPa. Our results show that the best performance was obtained with class-PTFs that used both texture and bulk density (texture-structural class-PTFs). They also showed that incorporation of horizon type into the PTF did not improve prediction performance. Comparison of performance at −33 and −1500 kPa showed very little difference, thus indicating no bias according to the value of water potential. Finally, the class-PTFs developed are well suited for predicting water retention properties at the continental and national scales because only very basic soils data are available at these scales. A map of the available water capacity (AWC) was established for France using the 1:1 000 000 Soil Geographical Database of France and an averaged AWC of 104 mm was computed for France

Environmental Assessment of Soil for Monitoring: Volume IIb Survey of National Networks

The ENVASSO Project (Contract 022713) was funded 2006-8, under the European Commission 6th Framework Programme of Research, with the objective of defining and documenting a soil monitoring system appropriate for soil protection at continental level. The ENVASSO Consortium, comprising 37 partners drawn from 25 EU Member States, reviewed almost 300 soil indicators, identified existing soil inventories and monitoring programmes in the Member States, designed and programmed a database management system to capture, store and supply soil profile data, and drafted procedures and protocols appropriate for inclusion in a European soil monitoring network of sites that are geo-referenced and at which a qualified sampling process is or could be conducted. This volume (IIb), a Survey of National Networks, is the second of two reports that together constitute the most comprehensive study to date of the soil inventory and monitoring activities in the European Union. It contains comprehensive fact sheets for each national network, listing the purpose, sampling strategy adopted, analytical methods used and the number of monitoring sites.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

Soil Geographical Database of Eurasia and the Mediterranean: Instructions Guide for Elaboration at Scale 1:1,000,000

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra

Coupling biophysical and micro-economic models to assess the effect of mitigation measures on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

Agricultural soils are a major source of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Because N2O emissions strongly depend on soil type, climate, and crop management, their inventory requires the combination of biophysical and economic modeling, to simulate farmers' behavior. Here, we coupled a biophysical soil-crop model, CERES-EGS, with an economic farm type supply model, AROPAj, at the regional scale in northern France. Response curves of N2O emissions to fertilizer nitrogen (Nf) inputs were generated with CERES-EGC, and linearized to obtain emission factors. The latter ranged from 0.001 to 0.0225 kg N2O-N kg-1 Nf, depending on soil and crop type, compared to the fixed 0.0125 value of the IPCC guidelines. The modeled emission factors were fed into the economic model AROPAj which relates farm-level GHG emissions to production factors. This resulted in a N2O efflux 20% lower than with the default IPCC method. The costs of abating GHG emissions from agriculture were calculated using a first-best tax on GHG emissions, and a second-best tax on their presumed factors (livestock size and fertilizer inputs). The first-best taxation was relatively efficient, achieving an 8\% reduction with a tax of 11 euro/t-CO2-equivalent, compared to 68 euro/t-CO2eq for the same target with the second-best scheme.nitrous oxide; agro-ecosystem model; economic modeling; greenhouse gas; mitigation measures

Evaluation et développement de nouvelles fonctions de pédotransfert pour l’estimation du RU

Evaluation et développement de nouvelles fonctions de pédotransfert pour l’estimation du RU. Séminaire de restitution du projet RUEdesSOL

Réduire les fuites de nitrate au moyen de cultures intermédiaires : conséquences sur les bilans d'eau et d'azote, autres services écosystémiques

La présence de nitrate en excès dans les eaux de surface et les nappes phréatiques pose des problèmes de santé publique et de dégradation de l’environnement. C’est d’abord un enjeu de santé publique notamment pour les nappes phréatiques, avec la nécessité de distribuer une eau de boisson présentant une teneur inférieure à la norme de potabilité qui est de 50 mg de nitrate par litre. C’est aussi un enjeu de protection de l’environnement pour les eaux de surface, en particulier pour certains bassins versants proches de la mer, comme en Bretagne ; le transfert rapide du nitrate des zones agricoles vers la mer induit une eutrophisation des zones côtières

Réduire les fuites de nitrate au moyen de cultures intermédiaires : conséquences sur les bilans d'eau et d'azote, autres services écosystémiques : Synthèse du rapport d'étude

Synthèse du rapport d'étude. Le présent document constitue la synthèse de l’étude sollicitée conjointement par le Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l'Energie et le Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Agroalimentaire et subventionnée par le Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l'Energie (étude n° 2100450303). Son contenu n'engage que la responsabilité de ses auteurs. Le rapport d’étude, source de cette synthèse, a été élaboré par les experts scientifiques sans condition d’approbation préalable par les commanditaires ou l’INRA. La synthèse a été validée par les auteurs du rapport

Réduire les fuites de nitrate au moyen de cultures intermédiaires : conséquences sur les bilans d'eau et d'azote, autres services écosystémiques : Synthèse du rapport d'étude

Synthèse du rapport d'étude. Le présent document constitue la synthèse de l’étude sollicitée conjointement par le Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l'Energie et le Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Agroalimentaire et subventionnée par le Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l'Energie (étude n° 2100450303). Son contenu n'engage que la responsabilité de ses auteurs. Le rapport d’étude, source de cette synthèse, a été élaboré par les experts scientifiques sans condition d’approbation préalable par les commanditaires ou l’INRA. La synthèse a été validée par les auteurs du rapport