Location: Soil Management Research
Project Number: 5060-11610-004-007-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: May 2, 2024
End Date: May 1, 2029
Objective:
This IAA with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is to support work on the IRA GHG Quantification Action Area #2 (AA#2) – Greenhouse Gas Research Network, and specifically the sub-group on Land Emissions. In turn AA#2 is one of seven action areas for the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) GHG Quantification effort (i.e., IRA Section 21002 (a)(2)). The IAA builds on an initial allocation (June 2023, and IAA for equipment in Oct 2023).
Objectives:
1. Develop a research and monitoring network to collect and synthesize multi-scale data on nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions from cropping and livestock production systems that represent major agricultural sources of these two gases. Prioritizing which systems to monitor is a function of which data are most useful for other Action Areas to evaluate practices that can reduce emissions and improve models, including for conservation program outcomes, exploring model comparisons, and supporting the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (the National GHG Inventory).
2. Coordinate with other USDA agencies and IRA GHG Quantification Action Areas to maximize data utility, including AA#1 to integrate GHG data collection with soil carbon and perennial biomass data collection as much as possible; AA#3 for data management; AA#5 to support NRCS conservation practice standards and implementation; AA#6 for conservation activity data collection and synthesis; and AA#4 and AA#7 to improve models.
Goals for Action Area Data Use: There are two major uses for the GHG emission monitoring data:
1. Improve predictive models for assessing GHG emission reduction outcomes at entity, state, regional, and national scales (AA#4) and advance the National GHG Inventory and the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Assessment Program of USDA (AA#7). Model improvement will focus on using AA#2 data to validate (or independently verify) GHG emission estimates, fill calibration needs, and advanced model equations and structure.
2. Improve NRCS conservation practice standards and implementation to reflect GHG mitigation opportunities (AA#5).
Approach:
ARS will leverage existing resources from Congressional base-funds, networks and expertise related to the LTAR, GRACEnet and others. Base funds provide salaries for permanent scientific and their support staff. The IRA funds will be used to complement some of these efforts with purchase additional equipment, supplies, IRA related travel and adding to the ARS human potential with term employees. The Ames, IA, Columbia, MO, Morris, MN, and St. Paul, MN locations are engaged in the LTAR networks covering the upper and central Mississippi Basin, which are collaborators in the Common Cropland Experiment (CCE). The CCE compares the prevailing or business as usual practice compared to an alternative/aspirational practice. In general, the aspirational practices include one or more conservation/climate smart practices. Madison and Marshfield, WI provide anopportunity for integrated assessment of livestock forage systems linked to the Enteric subgroup as well land emission. For example, Ames, IA in addition to the emissions from cropping systems and tile drainage systems , is also contributing to measurements emissions from animal housing (AA#2) and on the analysis of temporal/spatial conservation data (AA#6) with the intent of linking and scaling up management practices to GHG emissions. In that respect, Ames will provide critical interconnections between practices and GHG emissions from the plot to the field scale. Urbana, IL is currently measuring ecosystem N2O and methane, among other gases, while also working with a company to develop open-path N2O sensor, a cutting-edge technology that can greatly improve the temporal understanding and rigor of highly episodic N2O emissions. As such, additional resources will allow this site to add chamber-based measurement to field-based measurements addressing spatial and temporal variability associated with N2O emissions. Bowling Green has a long history of measuring N2O from cropland from their involvement with GRACEnet. All units have the capacity to measure direct emission and with a subset (e.g., Ames and St. Paul) conducting studies to assess indirect contributions to N2O emissions. Greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O and CH4) will be collected using commercially available equipment. Closed-vented chambers (manual or automated) or field survey (e.g., LI-COR or Gasmet) will be used to capture emission. The manual and field survey equipment are well-suited of capturing spatial variability but poorly suited for capturing temporal variability. Automated chambers can measure GHG repeatedly providing an hourly temporal scale but have a reduced capacity for capturing spatial variability as the chambers all are tied to a central control point. Openpath and closed-path sensors similar to eddy-covariance technology can capture at very high frequencies providing high temporal resolution at the field scale.
