Mitigation Opportunities

This page is dedicated to helping landowners choose the best mitigation strategies for their operation.

We developed the SMART decision matrix to help landowners and policy makers make the best decision for their goals/objectives when considering Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation (how much it costs to implement, how real or permanent is the mitigation, does it have significant co-benefits?).

SMART Decision Matrix

The SMART matrix considers these 5 topics surrounding a change in practice:

S = Services or co-benefits like water quality or improved profitability associated with a mitigation practice

M = Measurable Quantity for NYS (the amount of tons of CO2e NYS could mitigate as a state if this activity were engaged)

A = Achievable with <$50 metric ton of CO2e mitigated (cost or savings for the property owner to implement)

R = Real and realistically implemented mitigation in the near future (currently available technology etc. – we are ready to go!)

T = Time-frame reflecting the permanence of the mitigation (the effectiveness in addressing climate change)

In 2020, we used the SMART matrix to evaluated 13 land-based practices briefly described below. For more detail, please visit the report “NY agriculture & agriculture: Key opportunities for mitigation, resilience, and adaptation“.

Working Lands Mitigation Practices for NYS

FORESTS

• Afforestation of idle or underutilized agricultural land: Increased carbon sequestration in above and below ground biomass and soils gained by converting non-forest (<25% tree cover) to forest (>25% tree cover) in areas where forests are the native cover type.
• Woodland/Forest Management: Farms have a variety of woodlands (agroforestry systems, forest systems). According to the NYS Office of the Comptroller (2019) 21% of agricultural land (6,866,171 acres) is woodland (1.4 million acres). Changes in management practices to increase net forest carbon sequestration could alter species composition, stand structure, and stand density.

LIVESTOCK

• Manure Storage Cover and Flare: Retrofitting liquid manure storage with cover & flare so that methane produced is captured and combusted.
• Feed Management: Manipulating and controlling the quantity and quality of available nutrients, feedstuffs, or additives fed to livestock and poultry to reduce enteric emissions of CH₄ and reduce the Volatile Solid (VS) and nitrogen (N) available in manure so to reduce CH₄ and N₂O production in manure management systems.

CROPS

• Crop Nutrient Management (N fertilizer reduction): Avoided N₂O emissions due to more efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers and avoided upstream emissions from energy-intensive synthetic fertilizer manufacture.
• Alley Cropping: Carbon sequestration gained by planting wide rows of trees with a companion crop grown in the alleyways between the rows (applicable to <10% of agricultural area).
• Cover Crops (including double crops): Planting grasses, legumes, and forbs in the fallow season between main crops increases the overall annual vegetative cover with potential soil carbon sequestration and other benefits.
• Replace Annuals with Perennials: Replacing annual crops with perennial crops has many potential benefits for soil health and can increase C storage in agricultural soils, but it may be difficult to find perennial crops with equal value as annual crops.
• Riparian Buffers: An area of predominantly trees and/or shrubs located adjacent to and up-gradient from watercourses or water bodies. If planted with trees, it is also a long-term form of carbon sequestration (albeit on a small area).
• Biochar: Biochar is produced by pyrolysis and is essentially charcoal that can be incorporated into soils where it lasts much longer than adding other carbon sources such as crop residue.
• Reduced Tillage/No Tillage: Minimizing soil disturbance and increasing the amount crop residue on the soil surface.

ENERGY

• Renewable Energy: Renewable energy includes bioenergy, wind, hydro, geothermal, and solar energy production on building infrastructure or on farmland or other land (such as highway medians etc).
• Energy Efficiency:
  • Farms: variable speed pumps, barn insulation, reduce tractor passes
  • Homeowners: weatherize homes, programmable thermostats, heat pumps, behavior changes
  • Vehicle owners: transition to hybrid or electric vehicles
• Landscaping
  • Equipment: transition to electric landscaping equipment (efficient)
  • Design: ‘natural’ landscapes that reduce energy-intensive management and inputs and diversify habitat.

WASTE

• Reduce Food Waste: Food waste occurs throughout the food system (farms through supply chains including pre- & post-consumer).

A revised analysis is forthcoming, including other types of mitigation strategies!