Carbon Credit Impacts on Nutrient Loss

Title: The effectiveness of carbon credit programs at reducing nutrient losses: An assessment of public and private conservation programs and their interactions

Location: Iowa

Time Period: 2021 – July 2023

Research Team: Hongli Feng, Sarah Carlson, Susanne Hickey, Elizabeth Reaves, Lisa Schulte-Moore, and Wendong Zhang

Project Description (300 words max.): There have been intense interests in carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction in the agricultural sectors recently. Meanwhile, there have been decades of efforts and investment to reduce nutrient loss from agriculture. From a policy standpoint, carbon and nutrient reduction are inseparable for to two reasons: (a) most conservation practices that reduce nutrient loss also sequester carbon; and (b) both government and private incentives can be used to support the same set of conservation practices. By investigating these links, our team of cross-disciplinary researchers and non-governmental organization (NGOs) partners will evaluate how carbon credit programs will affect nutrient loss reduction with a focus on farmers’ decision-making regarding program participation.

Publications:

Funders: Iowa Nutrient Research Center