PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
According to the European Environment Agency, agriculture both contributes to climate change and is affected by climate change. Therefore, the EU needs to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and to adapt its food production system to cope with climate change. The use of conservation agriculture increases the carbon sink in soils and reduces GHG emissions, namely carbon dioxide (CO2), by optimising the use of agricultural inputs and reducing the use of fossil fuels. In combination with precision agriculture, conservation agriculture practices can contribute to both mitigating climate change impacts and adapting farming to future climate scenarios.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE AGROMITIGA project promoted a low-emissions agricultural system aimed at enhancing the mitigative capacity of soil as a carbon sink. The project assessed the impact of different conservation agriculture practices and quantified the mitigative capacity of soil management systems in the Mediterranean Basin (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain), in both herbaceous and perennial crops. The project also aimed to develop methods to calculate carbon footprints at different crop cultivation stages, in line with international standards, and a tool to quantify the increase of carbon in soils due to better soil management practices. This significantly improved knowledge about the carbon content of agricultural soils and demonstrated that conservation agriculture can help in reducing GHG emissions in the Mediterranean Basin. Furthermore, the project promoted the implementation of soil management systems that mitigate climate change through training and awareness raising activities.
RESULTS
The project has implemented and monitored two management systems (no-tillage in arable crops and groundcovers in woody crops) aimed to increase the carbon (C) content in soil and to mitigate climate change. The systems have been tested throughout the project duration at three scales: pilot scale, regional scale and transnational scale.
The project has demonstrated that Conservation Agriculture (CA) can reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon (C) sequestration. Furthermore, it has promoted the implementation of soil management systems that contribute to mitigating climate change, transferring the project knowledge to similar Mediterranean areas. It has also designed and implemented methods to calculate the C footprint in the cultivation stage of crops and has developed an application to evaluate and quantify Carbon content in soils. Lastly, it has managed to improve the state of knowledge about the contents of C in agricultural soil in Andalusia by developing a regional map of soil organic carbon content, that will also serve as useful references for future policy development and implementation.
The project had significant policy impacts at national and international level. Conservation Agriculture practices (no-tillage and groundcovers) have been included in the eco-schemes of the new CAP in Spain and the project team actively participates in the EU Expert Group for the development of certification methodologies adapted to different types of C removal activities.
