Dick Copeman, LEAN QLD

Agriculture and forestry generate greenhouse gases but they also have the potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere into soil and biomass. However, market mechanisms such as the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) may not be the best way of encouraging reductions in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions or increases in carbon sequestration.

The complexity of biological systems makes it difficult to obtain enough reliable information for the carbon accounting required to underpin a carbon market in the forestry, agricultural and land use sectors.  Such markets can create perverse incentives e.g. carbon offset schemes have already alienated prime agricultural land for tree planting, in Tasmania and Western Australia.

Market mechanisms may also promote the burning of waste biomass instead of fossil fuels for electricity production, depriving Australia’s already depleted agricultural soils of the carbon in the biomass, which should be returned to the soil through composting or similar processes.

Much evidence suggests that organically managed crops and pastures that are grazed in rotation can sequester carbon more rapidly and effectively than forestry, and that they can improve soil quality at the same time, with improved water holding capacity, enhanced plant growth and plant nutrition as well. But to be able to measure this sequestration accurately, in every farm paddock in the different regions of the country will be near to impossible.

However, there are many other actions that should be taken to reduce greenhouse emissions, increase carbon sequestration and protect existing carbon stores in the agriculture, forestry and land use sectors.

These actions include:

* Protecting all old-growth forests and ceasing  all clear felling of native vegetation
* Identifying  and preserving  all good quality agricultural and grazing land for food and fibre production
* Re-vegetating all cleared land that is not good quality agricultural and grazing land, particularly ridge tops, steep land and riparian areas.
* Rehabilitating land affected by salinity and soil erosion
* Re-localising food production, especially within and near cities
* Implementing sustainable agricultural and grazing practices, including:
o No-till or minimum-till soil preparation
o Crop rotation
o Green manure cropping
o Rotational cell grazing
o Water harvesting and storage in the landscape, using swales, Keyline and Andrews methods
o Composting of all plant and animal residues
o Reducing grazing pressure on fragile lands, including exclusion of grazing animals from stream banks and de-stocking in times of drought
o Effective use and management of weedy plants to improve soil and increase soil carbon.

To bring about these changes, governments have at their disposal the full range of tried and tested measures within their powers, including tax measures, legislation and regulation, subsidies, grants,  employment and volunteer programs, planning, education and training, research and development and  community awareness raising.

‘Cap and trade’ type market mechanisms  should be tried out in the electricity and transport sectors first, where measurement is easier, caps are simpler to set, and transparency will be greater, before extending to other sectors such as agriculture and forestry.

(For a fuller version of this article, see the national LEAN mail discussion list or email Dick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )