Decisions farmers make over the spring and summer can dramatically increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions later in the winter.
Decisions farmers make over the spring and summer can dramatically increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions later in the winter.
That's a key takeaway from a new University of Vermont study that shows, for the first time, that the impacts of farmers' manure use decisions extend beyond the growing season to influence emissions on warm winter days.
“This could have big impacts as winters become warmer and soils thaw more frequently,” said lead author Carol Adair, of UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Gund Institute for Environment. “If croplands move farther north with warming climates, this could increase the contributions of agriculture to global GHG emissions."
The study, published in Soil Science Society of America Journal, provides some of the first measures of GHG emissions from agricultural soils in Vermont and highlights important trade-offs with current agriculture practices, such as injecting manure into soils.
Read more at University of Vermont
Photo: Manure injection practices and warming winter temperatures interact to increase greenhouse gas emissions says new research by UVM’s Carol Adair and colleagues. CREDIT: Lindsay Barbieri
