Almond Industry Looks at Climate Change Regulations

By Marni Katz

Special to California Almonds

September 2007 edition
 

New regulations are likely to drive agriculture toward sustainable farming practices focused on reducing the impacts of energy and fertilizer use on greenhouse gas emissions.

AB 32, passed by the state legislature in 2006, mandates a 25-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, reducing current emissions to pre-1990 levels. Production agriculture has been identified as the fourth largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. While 80 percent of current statewide greenhouse gasses come from energy consumption in electricity and fossil fuels, regulators believe production agriculture contributes 8.4 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in California.

Already, grower groups are looking for ways to develop and incorporate sustainable farming practices that may have a positive impact on those estimated greenhouse gas emissions.

Gabriele Ludwig said the Almond Board of California is taking a proactive stance on climate change, funding research to discover where almond production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and how the industry can be part of the solution.

In light of the new law, the State Air Resources Board is scrambling to figure out where emissions come from in all sectors and how regulations or possible emissions cap and trade systems can meet that mandated reduction. While agriculture is not likely to be regulated during the initial implementation phase of AB32, Ludwig said voluntary efforts by agriculture that show reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may produce sellable credits on the greenhouse gas exchange market.

Ludwig said that, to reduce its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture will need to look for more sustainable fertilization and energy use practices.

Researchers say the majority of agriculture emissions come from nitrogen fertilizer applications and cattle. Applied nitrogen fertilizer can convert to nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is emitted in production agriculture through motor operations and energy consumption, burning and other practices.

However, agriculture is also being looked to as an important source for greenhouse gas sequestration. Carbon sequestration is essentially taking carbon dioxide out of the air and putting it somewhere where it does not impact air quality.

Perennial crops, such as almonds, utilize CO₂ during photosynthesis and convert that carbon dioxide into carbohydrates for root and tree growth. Practices such as chipping and shredding prunings and tree removals may also help reduce emissions by incorporating organic matter back into the soil.

The Almond Board’s research programs are currently reviewing fertilization needs as well the extent to which almonds sequester carbon, making it a positive contributor in the greenhouse gas arena.

A newly funded project at UC Davis will examine foliar almond nutrient guidelines to see if current recommendations are in line with modern farming practices and tree densities and whether newer fertilizer practices can reduce nitrous oxide emissions. Newer Almond Board research should also provide a clearer picture of carbon dioxide emissions and sequestration potential in almond farming.

If research shows almond trees or certain production practices actually help absorb greenhouse gasses, almond growers could sell carbon off-sets on carbon emissions exchange markets. Already, farmers in the Midwest are getting carbon credits for no-till farming, based on the increased organic matter stored in the soil through conservation tillage. The Almond Board is seeking data on similar practices in almonds and exploring what it takes to set a baseline for comparison.

 “We have started the process of trying to get some data on our potential contribution in N₂O emissions as well as CO₂ sequestration,” Ludwig said. “We are looking at both sides of the equation.”