Space Climate Observatory – Quantification of Additional Carbon Stored in Soils
The Quantica project (Quantification of Additional Carbon Stored in Soils, 2021-2023) financed by the CNES, aims :
- to quantify the biomass of cover crops between two cash crops, in order to quantify its effect on soil organic carbon storage,
- to co-construct a tool that will allow the development of an operational service to end-users who wish to be part of a Low Carbon Label approach or to sell their carbon credits.
This project is the result of a collaboration between Airbus, E2L, CESBIO, Arvalis Institut de Végétal, APCA, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture in Occitania and the Chambers of Agriculture of Gers and Tarn.
Context
Carbon storage in soils is a lever for achieving the objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on the nature and occupation of the land, new agricultural practices can increase this capacity, which is known as the additional storage potential. According to INRAE studies, cover crops represent 35% of the total additional storage potential.
Our contribution
The quantification of additional soil organic carbon storage is based on a method developed at CESBIO combining satellite observation of cover crops and agro-environmental modelling (SAFYE-CO2 model included in the AgriCarbon-EO operational processing chain and calibrated with high resolution time series of leaf area index derived from satellite images).
Through this process, the model is forced to reproduce the dynamics and development intensity (biomass) of cover crops. It also simulates the components of the carbon budget (photosynthesis, plant and soil respiration).
The coupling of SAFYE-CO2 with the AMG soil model can allow (when recent soil analyses are available at the plot) to refine the calculation of additional Carbon storage induced by intermediate crops. The coupling of these models then provides an evaluation tool compatible with the French Low Carbon Label methodology.
For more informations, please visit the Space Climate Observatory website.