KEY FINDINGS

A WIN - WIN STRATEGY WHEAT   Soil carbon sequestration is a win-win strategy. It mitigates climate change by offsetting anthropogenic emissions; improves the environment, especially the quality of natural waters; enhances soil quality; improves agronomic productivity; and advances food security. It is the low-hanging fruit and a bridge to the future, until carbon-neutral fuel sources and low-carbon economy take effect 144

FARMERS - THE SOLUTION rice field“Agriculture is recognized as a sector with such potential and farmers, ranchers, herders and other land users around the world can and should be part of the solution to climate change.” 146

  • CONTINUOUS SEQUESTRATION           SOILBio-agricultural farming methods tested in long-term  comparison field trials in temperate climate areas have shown no slowing of carbon sequestration for nearly 40 years

 

Bio-agriculture and Carbon Sequestration

 

wheat      What is bio-agriculture?

 

Bio-agriculture is an inclusive term for organic and biodynamic farming methods and strategies.

 

Organic farming uses organic inputs and excludes synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Biodynamic farming  uses special compost preparations and soil activators.

 

They increase biodiversity, land regeneration, water retention and soil carbon storage.                                                   MORE

Bio-agricultural farming methods massively and continuously increase soil carbon, taking CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil.

Long Term Field Trials

 

Bio-agricultural farming methods have been shown to sequester well over 3 metric tonnes  of CO2-e per hectare per year.

These results have been verified in more than thirty world-wide and Australian comparative field trials, some of which have lasted over forty years.

 

These trials have compared bio-agriculture and conventional farming methods. It was found that while bio-agricultural farming methods continuously increased soil carbon, conventional farming systems reduced it.  MORE

 bean seedlings

  Measuring Soil Carbon

 

New technology has made measuring soil carbon, not only extremely accurate, but simple and cost effective, thus overcoming one of the major hurdles of an agricultural solution to climate change. Previously, one of the issues that prevented the introduction of an agricultural solution, was that measuring increases in soil carbon accurately was both difficult and expensive.  MORE

Australia has the potential to absorb and store more than double the quantity of carbon dioxide than it emits.

         Other Significant Benefits of Bio-agriculture

 

soil

  • Improved soil fertility and biodiversity
  • Higher water retention (by 20%-50%),
  • Restoring degraded and desertified soil which now totals over 2 billion hectares worldwide.
  • Reducing chemical input and pollution,
  • Producing a healthy and sustainable food supply with increased crop-yields.                                                        MORE