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Sustainable agriculture in Carbon arithmetics (LIFE+AGRICARBON)
Start date: Jan 1, 2010, End date: Dec 31, 2014 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Background Emissions of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations from agriculture account for 10% of the GHGs at a global level. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in farming come mainly from ploughing, which causes soil carbon loss. Conservation Agriculture (CA) can play a significant role here, as a provider of carbon sinks to counteract emissions. Precision Agriculture (PA) can also help mitigate the negative impacts of climate change by determining optimum use of work, fertilisation and inputs for specific areas. These sustainable agricultural techniques however, are still very much in the minority in Spain because of lack of knowledge among farmers. Objectives This project aims to encourage the progressive establishment of sustainable agricultural techniques (CA and PA) – contributing to GHGs emission decreases and the adaptation of farming techniques – to new climatic conditions resulting from global warming. Also, the project aims to provide European and national authorities with the necessary knowledge and information of these techniques to encourage the adoption of environment policies in this area. Project actions will be carried out on three pilot farms, to gather data to support the techniques and to act as demonstration sites. The research will assess CO2 emissions and energy consumption on farms based on: climatic characteristics, type of crops, and type of farming. In parallel, actions to promote and disseminate the CA and PA techniques will be carried out. Expected results include: Fixation of an additional 0.60-1.50 metric tons of CO2/ ha per year on farms by using sustainable agricultural techniques, due to the sink effect of CA; Reduction of CO2 emissions by approximately 20%, due to the reduction in energy consumption with CA; Improvement in soil quality due to the sink effect of CA - quantified by an increase in organic matter percentage and its humidity; New legislation for measures supporting the implementation of CA and PA techniques and their inclusion in the Spanish Survey of Surfaces and Crop Yields (ESYRCE); and Transfer of knowledge and technologies to local farmers (targeting c. 300 000 individual farmers and over 700 agricultural co-operatives).

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