New project to measure carbon harvesting potential of Irish Soils

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Farming Independent Team Email

April 19 2021 10:37 AM

A new €1.4 million carbon sequestration research project has been launched to gain more insight into carbon sequestration the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in plant material or in the soil.

Carbon stored in soils is often called soil organic carbon and is vital for soil health, improving their workability, water holding capacity, and productivity.

The project builds on on the recent investment by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to establish the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory (NASCO) and has been launched today by the VistaMilk SFI Research Centre and Dairy Research Ireland, the group which allocates funding from the dairy levy collected from Irish dairy farmers.

The recent addition of both national and EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets pose considerable challenges for the Irish agricultural sector.

Following the publication of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill, the agricultural sector will face legally binding targets with a 5-year target to be set later this summer.

VistaMilk believes that there is an opportunity to greatly enhance the ability of the agricultural sector to achieve the new ambitious GHG targets for 2030, and the goal of carbon neutrality for 2050, by putting in place the necessary scientific research and infrastructure to rigorously quantify carbon sequestration.

The collaborative research project announced today will leverage the new Department of Agriculture-funded National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory. This network of carbon dioxide monitoring towers is one of the most comprehensive in Europe and places Ireland at the forefront of soil carbon research.

Vistamilk researchers will use this network to explore the impacts of farm management practices on a variety of soil types. The 4-year research project will be led by Dr Karl Richards and Professor Gary Lanigan (Environment, Soils and Land Use Research Department, Teagasc) in close collaboration with SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, UCD and Teagasc Moorepark.

Welcoming the announcement, the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., and the Minister of State with responsibility for research, Martin Heydon, T.D., added, “This builds on our investment to-date in measuring the emissions and opportunity for removals through our soils and hedges and is a critical step in developing opportunities that encourage and reward farmers capturing carbon. Moreover, if Ireland can provide rigorous measurements of carbon sequestration on a regular basis, it will underline the positive contribution that farming is making to reduce net emissions.”

Director of Research in Teagasc, Prof Frank O’Mara congratulated all involved saying “This research will point the way towards climate smart farming and will be central to providing the guidance and support to Irish farmers that will facilitate them moving to more climate friendly farming systems.”