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Soil carbon, the blind spot of European national greenhouse gas inventories

Author

Listed:
  • Valentin Bellassen

    (CESAER - Centre d'économie et de sociologie rurales appliquées à l'agriculture et aux espaces ruraux - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Dijon - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement)

  • Denis Angers

    (ULaval - Université Laval [Québec])

  • Tomasz Kowalczewski

    (COWI A/S)

  • Asger Olesen

    (Forest Stewardship Council)

Abstract

Soil carbon is currently being monitored in European national greenhouse-gas (GHG) inventories. Reviewing the data and methods, we find that unreported losses could be around 70 MtCO2 yr–1 in croplands, and unreported gains could be around 15 MtCO2 yr–1 in grasslands and 45 MtCO2 yr–1 in forests. The share of European Union (EU) forest area for which soil carbon is being accurately reported is at most 33%, and more likely close to 24%. Accuracy is even worse for grasslands and croplands. Widespread adoption of key carbon-farming practices (peatland restoration, agroforestry, substituting maize with grass) could remove an additional 150–350 MtCO2 yr–1. Yet, if effective policies lead to realizing this potential, current GHG inventories would not capture their climate mitigation benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentin Bellassen & Denis Angers & Tomasz Kowalczewski & Asger Olesen, 2022. "Soil carbon, the blind spot of European national greenhouse gas inventories," Post-Print hal-03631358, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03631358
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-022-01321-9
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03631358v2
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    Keywords

    national greenhouse gas inventories; soil carbon; monitoring; transparency;
    All these keywords.

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