ECO Innovation Congress in Papenburg with a strong focus on Carbon Farming
There were three sessions related to carbon farming:
1. Paludiculture: The management of bogs is offering ecologic and economic chances to strongly reduce CO2-emssions by rewetting them and using them for the production of peat mosses, cuttails and reeds for different applications.
2. Agroforestry: This session, moderated by Ernst Kürsten, was focussing on an increasingly important argument for more trees and shrubs on agricultural land is their effect on the local climate and water balance. By casting shade and evaporating water from deeper soil layers, they can cool arable crops during heat waves ("blueing") and alleviate drought stress. – Other topics were the positive effects of agroforestry systems with productive and climate-adapted tree species such as sweet chestnut on the farm income, and the biodiversity.
3. Climate Smart Farming: This session was moderated by Marjon Krol. Firstly the advantages of SOC for the productivity and resilience of soils were explained. The second topic was the French initiative to model the soil carbon budget by the use of remote sensing data, and finally the production of biochar as a means for CO2-removal was analysed.
Detailed information on these topics will be forwarded upon request (kuersten@3-n.info).
Dr. Ernst Kürsten
Picture: Chestnut is a very old and economically promising agroforestry tree with many potential uses.