theme 3: main session outcomes and key messages

Theme 3:Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost and black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Theme 3:Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost and black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Contrasted soils and ecosystems

Within category heterogeneity: natural vs managed

Theme 3:Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-1: Where are the priority areas for soil conservation to prevent SOC losses ?

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-1: Where are the priority areas for soil conservation to prevent SOC losses ?

• Peatland : Natural peatland and intensively managed (drained) peatland

• Permafrost :management

• Humid tropic soils ?

peatlanddrylands

Vulnerability : soil properties / context

Climate change mitigation Food security

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-2: What are the realistically achievable SOC stock changes and rates of change for specific soils and land uses?

• Minimize SOC losses !• rates of losses vs. rates of gain• Much more realistic to maintain than to increase

• Achievable stocks & rates of change: values = an assessment question

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-3: What is the degradation threshold where soil restoration and SOC sequestration is no longer considered feasible?

• No degradation threshold : inappropriate concept ? Different from other types of soil degradation (erosion, salinity)

• Threshold for effectiveness of specific restoration measures (e.g. non responsive soils)

• Socio-Economic thresholds

• Importance of rates of change (available data)

• All degraded soils can be restored (technically), but :- Costs limits- The SOC stock can be restored but recovered ecosystem ≠ pristine one

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-4: What are the potential derived ecosystem services and co-benefits of SOC sequestration that would contribute to climate change adaptation and reducing land degradation?

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-4: What are the potential derived ecosystem services and co-benefits of SOC sequestration that would contribute to climate change adaptation and reducing land degradation?

• There are organic matter benefits without SOC sequestration• More organic matter is not always the better (peatland vs. mineral soils)

• Time scale: short-term benefits hard to identify• Consider larger spatial scales than the plot scale

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-5: What are the proven best management practices that prevent SOC losses and foster SOC sequestration?

• Peatland: water table regulation• Erosion control • Organic matter additions to soil

o Biomass return = f(availability of the ressource) Limits water, nutrients - sustainable intensification Trade-offs (fuel- fodder)

o Management of organic wastes

Practices known by farmers but economic limits

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-5: What are the proven best management practices that prevent SOC losses and foster SOC sequestration?

• Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management• Are available• Need to be defined & implemented at a national/local level

(climate soil type , cropping system, farm typology…)

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Q3-6: What are the associated policy requirements/incentives to regulate their sustainable management?

• Necessary ! Need to compensate for economic losses

• Different type of incentives when preserving natural ecosystems or managed land• Low cost incentives exist• Incentives needed for biomass utilization• Cash incentives not always feasible

• Time scale mismatch

• Need to find benefits of SSM at a short time scale• Incentives to fill the gap

Action needed in the short term

Benefits in the long term

Theme 3: Managing SOC in:3.1 Soils with high SOC –

peatlands, permafrost & black soils

3.2 Grasslands and livestock production systems

3.3 Dryland soils

Other key points

• Definition and boundaries of the system (e.g peatland)• SOM should not be reduced to C, also think about P, N

• SOC as an indicator ? YES• meaningful, responsible, visible, measurable