Are you ready to make a deposit in the carbon bank?

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The talk of global warming and greenhouse gases may seem a complex and distant scientific equation. But there is one simple truth: pasture land can be an important method to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is captured by plants and stored as carbon in plant tissue, particularly the roots and, ultimately, in the soil. If there is a net carbon gain on a piece of land, it has become a carbon sink.

“All the tame and native pasture land in Saskatchewan could be classed as a large terrestrial carbon sink,” said Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Forage Development Specialist Todd Jorgenson. “In fact, the soil we farm today is a result of the buildup of organic matter under native rangelands over the past thousands of years. Before agricultural settlement in Saskatchewan, there was a net carbon sink in these rangelands.”

It all works like a bank account. The plants in the pasture lands take in carbon dioxide and sequester it, making carbon deposits. However, carbon is also released during the plants’ dormant periods, and from soil respiration. In the past, management practices have caused a long-term net loss of carbon from the account, due to both cultivation of native grasslands and overgrazing.

“It is well documented that overgrazed rangeland can be a major carbon emitter,” Jorgenson said. Growing conditions also affect the carbon balance of rangelands. Periods of drought and other poor growing conditions can cause net carbon loss.

“Well managed, healthy rangelands are a net carbon sink,” Jorgenson added. “Management practices aimed at increasing ground cover and biomass production substantially increase the amount of carbon sequestered by pasture land.”

Increasing net carbon sequestration across Saskatchewan’s vast grazing land has the potential to make a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases in Saskatchewan. There may be potential in the future for producers to benefit from this land, in the form of carbon credits now being purchased and traded on a global market through the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Jorgenson says Saskatchewan pasture land managers can benefit either way.

“The same practices that improve plant growth and overall rangeland health are the practices that hold the potential to increase long-term soil carbon sequestration,” he stated. “The amount of carbon input into the soil depends on many management factors, such as litter and residue management, planting well-adapted species, and reducing overgrazing.”

Jorgenson credits producers with understanding these concepts and progressing towards making Saskatchewan part of the solution for greenhouse gas reduction.

“Producers managing rangelands in the province are well aware of the benefits of good range management from a forage perspective,” he said. “They should also be aware of the fact that they are removing greenhouse gases for the benefit of society.”

For more information, contact:
Todd Jorgenson, Forage Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 786-5859
E-mail: tjorgenson@agr.gov.sk.ca