http://www.eurekalert.org/

Contact: Mithu Mukherjee

020-732-42223

SAGE Publications UK

Compost can turn agricultural soils into a carbon sink, thus protecting
against climate change

Special issue of Waste Management and Research published today by SAGE
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore (25 February, 2008) *
Applying organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting,
to agricultural land could increase the amount of carbon stored in these
soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, according to new research published in a special issue of
Waste Management & Research (Special issue published today by SAGE).
Carbon sequestration in soil has been recognized by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the European Commission as
one of the possible measures through which greenhouse gas emissions can
be mitigated.

One estimate of the potential value of this approach * which assumed
that 20% of the surface of agricultural land in the EU could be used as
a sink for carbon * suggested it could constitute about 8.6% of the
total EU emission-reduction objective.
³An increase of just 0.15% in organic carbon in arable soils in a
country like Italy would effectively imply the sequestration of the same
amount of carbon within soil that is currently released into the
atmosphere in a period of one year through the use of fossil fuels,²
write Enzo Favoino and Dominic Hogg, authors of the paper.
³Furthermore, increasing organic matter in soils may cause other
greenhouse gas-saving effects, such as improved workability of soils,
better water retention, less production and use of mineral fertilizers
and pesticides, and reduced release of nitrous oxide.²
However, capitalizing on this potential climate-change mitigation
measure is not a simple task. The issue is complicated by the fact that
industrial farming techniques mean agriculture is actually depleting
carbon from soil, thus reducing its capacity to act as a carbon sink.
According to Hogg and Favoino, this loss of carbon sink capacity is not
permanent. Composting can contribute in a positive way to the twin
objectives of restoring soil quality and sequestering carbon in soils.
Applications of organic matter (in the form of organic fertilizers) can
lead either to a build-up of soil organic carbon over time, or a
reduction in the rate at which organic matter is depleted from soils. In
either case, the overall quantity of organic matter in soils will be
higher than using no organic fertilizer.
³What organic fertilizers can do is reverse the decline in soil organic
matter that has occurred in relatively recent decades by contributing to
the build-up in the stable organic fraction in soils, and having the
effect, in any given year, of ensuring that more carbon is held within
the soil,² they explain.
But calculating the value of this technique to climate change policies
is complicated. To refine previous calculations and to take account of
the positive and negative dynamics of carbon storage in soil, Favoino
and Hogg modelled the dynamics of compost application and build-up
balancing this with mineralization and loss through tillage.
Their results suggest that soils where manure was added have soil
organic carbon levels 1.34% higher than un-amended soils, and 1.13%
higher than soils amended with chemical fertilizers, over a 50-year
period. ³This is clearly significant given the evaluations reported
above regarding carbon being lost from soils, and the increasing amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,² they say.

###

The potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse gases by Enzo
Favoino and Dominic Hogg is published on Monday 25 February in a special
issue of Waste Management & Research, entitled Green House Gases and
Solid Waste Management. The article will be free online for two months.
The special issue will be available on SAGE Journals Online from Monday
25th February at http://wmr.sagepub.com/current.dtl.
Waste Management & Research is a peer-reviewed journal that satisfies
the growing demand for essential information that can be practically
applied by those who are responsible for the management of both
municipal and industrial waste. The journal publishes results from a
broad cross section of researchers and practitioners in the field; from
academic institutions, governments and the private sector.
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and
electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets.
Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of
scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range
of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and
science, technology and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has
principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore.
www.sagepub.co.uk

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millville Weather
Lat 39.5982 Long -75.0358

In article
,
Bill wrote:

http://www.eurekalert.org/

Contact: Mithu Mukherjee

020-732-42223

SAGE Publications UK

Compost can turn agricultural soils into a carbon sink, thus protecting
against climate change

Special issue of Waste Management and Research published today by SAGE
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore (25 February, 2008) *
Applying organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting,
to agricultural land could increase the amount of carbon stored in these
soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, according to new research published in a special issue of
Waste Management & Research (Special issue published today by SAGE).
Carbon sequestration in soil has been recognized by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the European Commission as
one of the possible measures through which greenhouse gas emissions can
be mitigated.

One estimate of the potential value of this approach * which assumed
that 20% of the surface of agricultural land in the EU could be used as
a sink for carbon * suggested it could constitute about 8.6% of the
total EU emission-reduction objective.
³An increase of just 0.15% in organic carbon in arable soils in a
country like Italy would effectively imply the sequestration of the same
amount of carbon within soil that is currently released into the
atmosphere in a period of one year through the use of fossil fuels,²
write Enzo Favoino and Dominic Hogg, authors of the paper.
³Furthermore, increasing organic matter in soils may cause other
greenhouse gas-saving effects, such as improved workability of soils,
better water retention, less production and use of mineral fertilizers
and pesticides, and reduced release of nitrous oxide.²
However, capitalizing on this potential climate-change mitigation
measure is not a simple task. The issue is complicated by the fact that
industrial farming techniques mean agriculture is actually depleting
carbon from soil, thus reducing its capacity to act as a carbon sink.
According to Hogg and Favoino, this loss of carbon sink capacity is not
permanent. Composting can contribute in a positive way to the twin
objectives of restoring soil quality and sequestering carbon in soils.
Applications of organic matter (in the form of organic fertilizers) can
lead either to a build-up of soil organic carbon over time, or a
reduction in the rate at which organic matter is depleted from soils. In
either case, the overall quantity of organic matter in soils will be
higher than using no organic fertilizer.
³What organic fertilizers can do is reverse the decline in soil organic
matter that has occurred in relatively recent decades by contributing to
the build-up in the stable organic fraction in soils, and having the
effect, in any given year, of ensuring that more carbon is held within
the soil,² they explain.
But calculating the value of this technique to climate change policies
is complicated. To refine previous calculations and to take account of
the positive and negative dynamics of carbon storage in soil, Favoino
and Hogg modelled the dynamics of compost application and build-up
balancing this with mineralization and loss through tillage.
Their results suggest that soils where manure was added have soil
organic carbon levels 1.34% higher than un-amended soils, and 1.13%
higher than soils amended with chemical fertilizers, over a 50-year
period. ³This is clearly significant given the evaluations reported
above regarding carbon being lost from soils, and the increasing amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,² they say.

###

Good article. As noted at the end of the next to last paragraph, CO2 is
lost through tillage. Another reason to investigate no-dig gardening.


The potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse gases by Enzo
Favoino and Dominic Hogg is published on Monday 25 February in a special
issue of Waste Management & Research, entitled Green House Gases and
Solid Waste Management. The article will be free online for two months.
The special issue will be available on SAGE Journals Online from Monday
25th February at http://wmr.sagepub.com/current.dtl.
Waste Management & Research is a peer-reviewed journal that satisfies
the growing demand for essential information that can be practically
applied by those who are responsible for the management of both
municipal and industrial waste. The journal publishes results from a
broad cross section of researchers and practitioners in the field; from
academic institutions, governments and the private sector.
SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and
electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets.
Since 1965, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of
scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students spanning a wide range
of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, and
science, technology and medicine. An independent company, SAGE has
principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore.
www.sagepub.co.uk
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

In article
,
Billy wrote:

The real work is to build up our soils. It seems to me and others.

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Work-Inte...dp/0811207617/
ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203957584&sr=1-1

or

http://tinyurl.com/25r9uu

Gary Again Sorry as it may seem like think like this. I'd say
consider this take the useful and discard the rest . Then evaluate in a
few years and make more mistakes.

Bill a neat book non the less.

Some Music

Welcome On Earth (To Tom) 5:26 Shed At the Crossroads
Electronic

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millville Weather
Lat 39.5982 Long -75.0358

In article
,
Bill wrote:

In article
,
Billy wrote:

The real work is to build up our soils. It seems to me and others.
To build up and conserve. Deforestation and fallow fields lead to
erosion of top soil by wind and water, and reduction of rain fall. This
leads to reduced recharging of aquifers, pollution of ground water,
destruction of land and water habitats (including game animals and fish
in the last remains of our commons), and reduction of potable water for
human use.

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Work-Inte...dp/0811207617/
ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203957584&sr=1-1

or

http://tinyurl.com/25r9uu

Gary Again Sorry as it may seem like think like this. I'd say
consider this take the useful and discard the rest . Then evaluate in a
few years and make more mistakes.

Bill a neat book non the less.

Some Music

Welcome On Earth (To Tom) 5:26 Shed At the Crossroads
Electronic
You're always out flanking me on cultural issues, Bill (thanks, I need
the stretch).

At work, I like listening to music (usually blues) but at home, about
all I want to hear are my wind chimes.

Most poetry and prose either doesn't touch me or makes me work too hard.
That's unfortunate because the poet's eye seems, to me, to be the best
protection we have against banality. The problem is to find art that
speaks to you (in the editorial sense) because all art isn't for all
people.

That is not to say though that I don't occasionally get blown away by
poetry, especially haiku. The last time that it happened was in Peter
O'Tool's movie, "Venus":

Sonnet XVIII,
Shall I Compare Thee?
By William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

I love being in love;-)
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article
,
Bill wrote:

In article
,
Billy wrote:

The real work is to build up our soils. It seems to me and others.
To build up and conserve. Deforestation and fallow fields lead to
erosion of top soil by wind and water, and reduction of rain fall. This
leads to reduced recharging of aquifers, pollution of ground water,
destruction of land and water habitats (including game animals and fish
in the last remains of our commons), and reduction of potable water for
human use.

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Work-Inte...dp/0811207617/
ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203957584&sr=1-1

or

http://tinyurl.com/25r9uu

Gary Again Sorry as it may seem like think like this. I'd say
consider this take the useful and discard the rest . Then evaluate in a
few years and make more mistakes.

Bill a neat book non the less.

Some Music

Welcome On Earth (To Tom) 5:26 Shed At the Crossroads
Electronic
You're always out flanking me on cultural issues, Bill (thanks, I need
the stretch).

At work, I like listening to music (usually blues) but at home, about
all I want to hear are my wind chimes.

Most poetry and prose either doesn't touch me or makes me work too hard.
That's unfortunate because the poet's eye seems, to me, to be the best
protection we have against banality. The problem is to find art that
speaks to you (in the editorial sense) because all art isn't for all
people.

That is not to say though that I don't occasionally get blown away by
poetry, especially haiku. The last time that it happened was in Peter
O'Tool's movie, "Venus":

Sonnet XVIII,
Shall I Compare Thee?
By William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

I love being in love;-)

Thanks for the pointing to Venus!

Bill Dealing with a son with real flu and a dad with post surgery
bowels issues. Come on Spring!

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA
ICAO = KMIV Millville Weather
Lat 39.5982 Long -75.0358

In article
,
Bill wrote:

I love being in love;-)

Thanks for the pointing to Venus!
If you haven't seen it, I think you'll like it. It's an ol' man's kinda
movie, where alcohol and pretty girls doth make fools of old men (a line
from François Rabelais). Not that I need any external help.

Readers, friends, if you turn these pages
Put your prejudice aside,
For, really, there's nothing here that's outrageous,
Nothing sick, or bad ‹ or contagious.
Not that I sit here glowing with pride
For my book: all you'll find is laughter:
That's all the glory my heart is after,
Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.
I'd rather write about laughing than crying,
For laughter makes men human, and courageous.

BE HAPPY!




Bill Dealing with a son with real flu and a dad with post surgery
bowels issues. Come on Spring!

Over here on the "Left" coast we got the hacks. A nasty cold that falls
on you like bricks. Seems to be all over the place from north to south.
There also seems to be some stomach flu goin' around too.

Sorry to hear about your dad. Hope his mind is clear. Hospitals are
dangerous places. Getting old isn't for sissies, as we are about to find
out.

It doesn't rain but that it pours. Best wishes to your significant one
as well.

Sounds like your gonna be worn down to a nub by the time everyone is up
and healthy again. Keep those sticky hands movin'.

I got my flu and pneumonia shots in January. I had a bit of a TG scare.
Two years in a row, the county health clinic showed me as positive to
TB. First time I presumed they were nuts. Second time, I went to my
doctor got x-rayed and re-tested and both came back negative. Whew. Now
all I have to do is wait for new lens for my eye-balls and I'll be as
good as pathetic. Just a thrill a minute;-)

Sun finally came out today. Gotta bundle up and run out for provisions.
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush