Methods for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Balances and Evaluating Mitigation Options in Smallholder Agriculture

This book will provide standards and guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from smallholder agriculture and comparing options for climate change mitigation based on emission reductions and livelihood trade-offs. Globally, agriculture is directly responsible for 14% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and induces an additional 17% through land use change, mostly in developing countries. Farms in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are predominately managed by smallholders, with 80% of land holdings smaller than ten hectares. However, our understanding of the effect smallholder farming has on the Earth’s climate system is limited. Greenhouse gas measurements in agriculture are expensive, time consuming, and error prone. These challenges are exacerbated by the heterogeneity of smallholder systems and landscapes. Concerns over methodological rigor, measurement costs, and the diversity of approaches, coupled with the demand for robust information suggest it is germane for the scientific community to establish standards of measurements for quantifying GHG emissions from smallholder agriculture. A standard protocol for use by scientists and development organizations will help generate reliable data on emissions baselines and allow rigorous comparisons of mitigation options. This book describes the approach developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) and partners.

Todd S. Rosenstock is an Environmental Impacts Scientist at the The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Klaus Butterbach-Bahl is Head of Department “Atmosphere/ Biosphere Interactions and Global Change” at IMK-IFU, Karlsruhe Research Centre. He is also a senior scientist in Biogeochemistry at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya. Meryl Richards is an agroecologist who joined the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in January 2013 as a Science Officer for Theme 3: Pro-Poor Climate Change Mitigation. Dr. Marina Rufino is a Senior Scientist and team leader at Forest and Environment, Center forInternational Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia. Dr. Lini Wollenberg is Research Associate Professor at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont. She was previously the Director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, U. of Vermont (2007-2009); Principle Scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (1994-2005); and Program Officer for Asia’s Rural Poverty and Resources Program at the Ford Foundation (1991-1994).