“This new approach closes the gap for those of us who over decades of on-farm studies noticed bulk density drifting either up or down, depending on management, yet we had no commensurate tools to easily adjust for it,” said Will Brinton, a coauthor of the study. Current calculations of soil organic carbon don’t factor in this shift in bulk density. If carbon is removed, less air is involved, thus making the bulk density greater. Using hypothetical 30-centimeter samples taken at three specified times with prescribed changes in soil organic carbon, researchers showed that variations in bulk density result in errors with fixed-depth sampling.Īs more carbon is sequestered in the soil, the bulk density is lessened because more air is present. To that end, Basso and his team examined the international standard for assessing soil carbon stock changes, which involves repeated fixed-depth soil sampling down to at least 30 centimeters in the same location.
“If we aren’t capturing carbon stock changes appropriately and precisely, then we never develop a true understanding of the effectiveness of our sustainability efforts.” “Science offers an important perspective in the business of carbon markets and agricultural policy,” Basso said. One of the principal challenges, Basso said, has been the adoption of a unified way of measuring soil carbon changes accurately. In addition, many countries around the world use soil carbon stock changes as a way to determine the success of agricultural policy shifts, but similar problems with cost and unreliable information persist. Basso said farmers are looking for certainty in identifying changes in soil carbon stocks. The cost of soil sampling, remote sensing image analysis, modeling and other carbon stock assessment methods currently renders the economic benefit tenuous. Soil carbon incentives and markets have led private companies and nonprofits to pay farmers for sequestering carbon in soil. Soils are able to hold vast quantities of carbon - greater than the atmosphere and vegetation combined - which helps the environment and, more recently, farmers’ bottom lines. “This includes sequestering carbon in the soil, which several private industry and nonprofit organizations have begun valuing.” “Agriculture is the main sector affecting soil and landscape management, so improving agricultural management and policy that supports it is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. Given the advances in regenerative agriculture such as cover crops and no-till systems, however, Basso said this presents opportunities to employ meaningful modifications. Farmers, scientists and corporations are investigating ways to make this indispensable industry more sustainable.Īccording to a 2022 summary for policymakers from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture is responsible for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
But challenges abound, with climate change proving to be one of the most difficult to tackle. The importance of agriculture is impossible to overstate, providing the food, fiber and fuel that supports a growing world population. Will Brinton, the founder and chief science officer for Woods End Laboratories in Maine, also contributed. His team included two members of his laboratory: Ames Fowler, a crop modeling research associate, and Neville Millar, a postdoctoral fellow. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the departments of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, as well as the W.K. The project was led by Bruno Basso, a John A. Plus, the rate at which fund deposits or withdrawals complete depends on your brokerage's hours.īanks are open the same days as the stock and bond markets, with a few exceptions.The findings were published in Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio journal. Keep in mind, though, that you won't be able to place any orders until the market reopens. You can check balances, monitor your portfolio's performance, or initiate deposits or withdrawals. However, you can still perform basic functions in your account. Unless you're using international stock exchanges or electric communication networks, you probably won't be able to trade during the weekend or on holidays when the market is closed. ET)Ĭan you still use your account while the stock market is closed? ET)ĭay before Independence Day (closes at 2 p.m. Day before Memorial Day (closes at 2 p.m.
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