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Understanding fundamental processes
Covering the whole cycle
Broader emissions accounting
Identifying emissions

Understanding fundamental processes

Specific research needs identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group in the Government-Business Climate Change Dialogue: “Identify fundamental processes of emissions and factors affecting rate and magnitude of these emissions.”

Many of the research projects being undertaken by the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting are focussed on identifying and understanding fundamental processes of emissions and factors affecting the rate and magnitude of emissions.

Measuring coarse woody debris CRC for Greenhouse Accounting research has made significant advances in understanding of:

the dynamics of soil and root carbon, both in relation to human activities such as changing land use or management strategies, and to changes in the environment;
net carbon fluxes in woody vegetation, and the impact of human activity such as grazing management and changed fire regimes;
the storage of carbon in harvested wood and wood products;
how fundamental processes respond to environmental changes;
the vulnerability of Australian ecosystems to climate and land-use change and the resultant impacts on the carbon cycle;
the effect of different clearing practices; and
the effect of environmental variables on root-to-shoot ratios, increasing the reliability of estimates of total biomass.

The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting brings together more than 100 of Australia's leading greenhouse researchers from most of the major scientific and land management institutions across Australia. It incorporates the most active research groups in carbon accounting from both federal and state governments, and collaborates nationally and internationally. It focuses on areas where there is an identified national need not being met by others.

For further information on research programs go to http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/research/programs.htm

Covering the whole cycle

Specific research needs identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group in the Government-Business Climate Change Dialogue: “Recognise, measure and account for all emissions and sinks activities.”

The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting research program — previously focusing mainly on carbon — has recently been extended to cover other land-based greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane. The new research program aims to provide sound science to support on-farm management of non-CO₂ greenhouse gas sources.

Wider research includes improving methods for measuring carbons pools and fluxes in soil and biomass, projecting changes in the carbon cycle by focusing on understanding fundamental processes and how they will respond to atmospheric change, estimating the year-to-year changes that Australia’s variable climate has on carbon sinks, developing good practice guidelines and standards, and analysing the impacts of different management regimes.

Studies are being undertaken in every state and territory across Australia, with field sites encompassing a wide range of different soil and vegetation types, environments, and management regimes.

Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting research nodes and field sites

The research considers the dynamics of carbon at a range of scales, from the individual tree to the continental.

Work on developing modelling tools to support research includes adding key aspects of the ecosystem structure and function to existing ecosystem models to make them more suitable for Australian applications.

For further information on field sites go to http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/dis/fieldsites/index.cfm

Broader emissions accounting

Specific research needs identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group in the Government-Business Climate Change Dialogue:“Examine the impact of broader national emissions accounting, for example to include changes in grazing lands management (such as from woody weed and vegetation thickening)”

The work of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting includes extensive research on the effect of changes to land management and on the carbon impacts of woody weed and vegetation thickening.

Research has already demonstrated that thickening of woody growth creates a significant carbon sink in Queensland’s grazed woodland, possibly equivalent to as much as 25 per cent of the most recently published total estimated national net emissions. Further work is underway to substantiate these estimates and to clarify the role of different processes driving this thickening: grazing management, suppression of fire, or ‘fertilisation’ due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Extensive research is also underway to assist assessment of the impact of changes in land use, management or climate on carbon pools and fluxes, and to enable cost-effective estimates of carbon sequestration rates.

Work in progress includes the development and calibration of models to analyse the effects of alternative management practices on carbon stocks in agricultural, forest and rangeland ecosystems.

Vegetation thickening at Blue Range

For more information on research programs go to http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/research/programs.htm

Identifying emissions

Specific research needs identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group in the Government-Business Climate Change Dialogue: “Identify emissions for extensive livestock landuse, including methane from enteric fermentation (feed digestion), management of rangelands and pastures (nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide), land clearing (carbon dioxide), and savannah burning (methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide)”

Research being conducted through the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting includes development of tools and approaches to analyse the potential for carbon sequestration in rangelands, croplands, grazing areas and forests with different management scenarios. Objectives include the capability of rapid analysis of the potential benefits and risks associated with different agricultural and natural resource management strategies.

Recent research achievements include the development of Range-ASSESS, a scenario analysis framework that models the effects of changes to the management of rangelands in Australia. Grazing of rangelands is the most extensive land use in Australia. The enormous area involved means that even small gains per hectare provide a large potential carbon sink.

Collar measuring methane Research is in progress to analyse the potential for carbon sequestration in pasture areas, crop lands and rangelands under different management regimes, and to analyse the risks and benefits from changes in management to improve carbon sequestration. The CRC is involved in international collaboration on the effects of burning of woodland and savannah.

The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting recently won government support for expansion of its research program to study non-CO₂ greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane. This research is to provide useable information to enable farmers and land managers to implement practices and systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected to lead to better estimates of the likely impacts of climate change and agricultural management practices on greenhouse gas emissions.

For further information on Range-ASSESS go to http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/research/australia