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Principal Investigators:
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As the PI for the CASMGS project and research efforts, I am responsible for the overall objective of the funding which is to develop the data, models, and understanding needed to assess the potential for soil C sequestration in U.S. agriculture, and to communicate this information to stakeholders. As a member of the CASMGS Executive Committee, we are developing a vision of the final products that the research program will produce. This vision must begin with an understanding of how policies or markets for soil C sequestration could be designed and implemented. This understanding in turn should be used to guide the research agenda for data collection, modeling, and related analysis.
I am also involved in the biophysical-economic modeling of agricultural production systems in the northern Great Plains. The objective is to conduct basic research to assess the economic feasibility of increasing soil C through changes in land use and related management practices and through the adoption of new technologies. Finally, we want to estimate and develop mechanisms to measure carbon levels made available as a result of land use changes. Key issues are how C rates for contracts with farmers will be established, how those rates will be verified over time, and how the practices specified in contracts will be monitored. The use of prototype policy or contract designs would be an effective way to prioritize the kinds of carbon level measurements that may be needed. |
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John Antle
Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Economics
jantle@montana.edu
Website
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I will be further developing a biophysical-economic approach to modeling
agricultural production systems, and utilizing that approach to predict
changes in soil organic carbon storage and greenhouse gas fluxes.
Comparisons between farm-scale and county-scale models will be made to
assess their validity for policy and market analysis. I also will be
investigating how to design contracts for soil carbon sequestration to meet
the needs of both producers and buyers of soil carbon. Buyers may include
the federal government and market participants and their contract needs are
likely to differ. Simulations of the integrated model will be used to
assess farmers' participation in per-hectare and per-tonne contracts. These results will be used to construct supply curves for soil
carbon and to assess the economic feasibility of soil carbon sequestration
for major production systems in Montana, Nebraska, and the central United
States.
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Rick Engel
Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences
engel@montana.edu
Website
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We are trying to understand whether the quantity and quality (C:N) of surface crop residue has any impact on the ability of soils to sequester carbon. Carbon sequestration is defined as the net removal of CO2
from the atmosphere into long-lived pools of carbon. Volume and mass of surface residue inputs can vary greatly due to site-specific differences
in production (landscape effects) and surface residue redistribution by farm machinery. Our research will determine whether surface inputs
(quantity and quality) impact C sequestration or whether C sequestration in the soil is a function of root inputs.
We are concerned about nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from agricultural ecosystems because N2O is a greenhouse gas that is
310 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. To investigate if changing cropping system practices, including
reduced tillage, affects nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils we will be including vented soil covers for the measurement of N2O
emissions from soils. Gas samples will be collected periodically thru the 2003 and 2004 cropping seasons at a farm site in northern Montana. Analysis
of gas samples for N2O will enable us to characterize season patterns of emissions and the quantity of N2O lost to the
atmosphere from soils in this region. We hope to confirm that soil and crop management practices that are associated with improved carbon sequestration
are consistent with reduced or minimal N2O emissions. |
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Duane Griffith
Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Economics
griffith@montana.edu
Website
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To a large extent, cropping systems used by farmers determine the amount of
carbon sequestered in the soil. Cropping systems also affect other greenhouse
gases. In general, no-till cropping practices result in more carbon stored in
the soil. However, farmers must make the decision to move towards no-till
carefully. While no-till practices can produce benefits for the land, there
are tradeoffs to consider. Past research has shown that yields may not
increase with a no-till cropping system. Higher chemicals use is necessary to
offset weeds controlled by mechanical tillage systems. Farmers may have to
invest in bigger machinery compliments for no-till systems. The economics of
no-till must be carefully considered by individual farmers. We will work
closely with researchers at Montana State University and the other
universities involved in CASMGS to provide farmers with a computerized
decision support system to evaluate their unique financial and economic
situation in comparing tillage systems.
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Perry Miller
Dept. of Land Resources
and Environmental Sciences
pmiller@montana.edu
Website
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We are examining the value of "best management practices" in
accumulating soil organic carbon in Montana cropland. One project looks at
the historical (6 - 10 years) effect on soil organic carbon in "across
the fence" comparisons of no-till vs. conventional tillage management
for six farm pairs in north central Montana. These results are used to
validate model predictions by measuring increases in soil organic carbon
as affected by tillage system (significantly greater in no-till) and soil
texture (higher the clay content, more pronounced the tillage effect). A
second project is designed to be long-term (minimum 5 years) and
investigates soil carbon effects due to land conversion to no-till
management, and the effect of intensifying cropping systems from
crop-fallow to annual cropping. This research takes place on 80-acre fields
in north central Montana (the 'Triangle') with farmers implementing all
land management practices. Measurements of nitrous oxide emissions, another
important greenhouse gas, and economic costs associated with alternative
management practices addressed in this project.
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There are many unresolved issues related to carbon sequestration, not least policy
design, soil carbon measurement protocols and uncertainty regarding which
management practices will be most economically efficient at sequestering
carbon. I will be working on several of these questions. With Perry Miller, I
will examine the economics of switching from conventional to reduced tillage
to sequester additional soil C. With John Antle and Susan Capalbo, I will be
designing and exploring the economic feasibility of a range of measurement
schemes for soil C as well as contract design. With several other CASMGS
collaborators at MSU, and other institutions, I will be examining the
potential role that agroforestry practices can play in sequestering soil C as
well as trying to quantify their additional co-benefits.
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Linda Young
Dept. of Political Science
lmyoung@montana.edu
Website
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It is unclear at this time if the potential to pay producers to sequester
carbon will occur in a market framework, through government conservation
programs, or a mix of both. I will be analyzing current national and
international policies that are likely to affect the development of carbon
sequestration programs. U.S. government programs will need to be structured
to abide by U.S. commitments under the World Trade Organization's
Agreement on Agriculture. Questions also exist at the international level
on the compatibility of WTO disciplines and the Kyoto Protocols' approach
to reduce CO2 emissions and to trading emission reduction units.
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Other Participants:
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Ross Bricklemyer
Dept. of Land Resources
and Environmental Sciences
rsb@montana.edu
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I graduated from Montana State University with a B.S. in Land Resources and
Environmental Science (soil science option) in 2000 and recently earned my
M.S. in Land Resources and Environmental Science also from MSU. As a Research Associate working primarily with the CASMGS project, my
main responsibilities are 1) to serve as the primary contact for the six
farmer cooperators involved with CASMGS in north central Montana and 2) to
measure soil organic carbon and crop biomass production at each of the CASMGS
research sites. In addition to having a great interest in the interactions of soil
properties and cropping systems on soil carbon dynamics, I am also interested
in the potential use of satellite imagery to further support a carbon trading
market. In conjunction with the CASMGS project, I am also looking into the
potential use of satellite imagery for documenting agricultural management
practices and estimating input variables for the Century model.
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Jetse Stoorvogel
Lab. of Soil Science and Geology
University of Wageningen,
The Netherlands
jetse.stoorvogel@wur.nl
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Jetse Stoorvogel is an Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Soil Science and
Geology, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. He received his Ph.D. in
Soil Science and Agronomy and his M.Sc. in Soil Science from Wageningen
University. His research interests include soil inventory, land evaluation,
GIS applications, and tradeoffs in sustainable agriculture and the
environment.
He will be working on adapting the Tradeoff Analysis Model software (developed
by Montana State University, in collaboration with other research
institutions, in research supported by USAID) to interface with Century, WEPP,
and new economic models. He plans to provide a transparent, user-friendly
interface that will allow dynamic simulation results to predict changes in
soil organic carbon storage and greenhouse gas fluxes.
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Roberto Valdivia
Dept. of Agricultural
Economics and Economics
valdivia@montana.edu
Website
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Roberto O. Valdivia graduated from the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano-Puno,
Peru with a B.S. in Economic Sciences in 1995. In 1996 he earned the title
of Economist Engineer. He was involved in projects funded by the International
Development Research Centre-Canada in Bolivia, and then he
worked at the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru as a research
assistant and consultant for several projects in the Andean region. In 1998
he began working for the Tradeoffs in Sustainable Agriculture Project
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. He obtained his
MSc. in Applied Economics in the Department of Agricultural Economics and
Economics at Montana State University. Current research includes modifying
the Tradeoff Analysis method and TOA model software to be applied in
different analysis, such as soil conservation investments, carbon
sequestration and policy decision analysis in the Andes and the United
States.
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