Agriculture and Grasslands | US Nature4Climate

Natural Climate Solutions: A Win-Win Solution for Our Environment and Our Economy

*_{Coastal and oyster restoration along the coast of Rhode Island Photo Credit: TNC}*

There is growing recognition in the United States that the actions required to spare us from the worst impacts of climate change can also serve as a powerful engine for job creation and economic recovery. The economic benefits of decarbonizing our energy and transportation sectors are relatively clear – large-scale efforts to install wind turbines and solar arrays, build electric vehicle charging stations and cap leaking gas wells will requires a large workforce, potentially creating employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Natural Climate Solutions — conservation, restoration and improved land management strategies that remove carbon dioxide from the air – can also play a large role in tackling climate change. Indeed, natural and working lands have the potential to reduce overall emissions in the United States by up to 30 percent. Like other climate solutions, these actions can also serve as a powerful mechanism for restoring our economy by creating jobs, generating new sources of income for farm and forest owners and managers, and providing a wide range of economic benefits to underserved and frontline communities across America.

*_{The Blaney family farm in Albany, Ohio. Photo Credit: Alex Snyder/TNC}*

In addition to the direct economic benefits of Natural Climate Solutions, they provide significant indirect economic benefits by also protecting water quality, improving soil health, increasing resilience to floods and drought and providing crucial habitat for wildlife. When one considers the significant benefits that Natural Climate Solutions provide to people and nature, it is clear that they are a win-win solution for our environment and our economy.

The U.S. Nature4Climate coalition has reviewed reports, case studies, and research about the economic value of Nature Climate Solutions. We hope the collective weight of this information will increase public awareness of the numerous benefits of Natural Climate Solutions, elevating these solutions as an integral part of the overall strategy to combat climate change and restore our economy. Over the next month, U.S. Nature4Climate and our coalition partners will highlight the potential of Natural Climate Solutions to help spur an equitable and robust economic recovery in the United States.

Our campaign is themed around the following facts:

Investment in Natural Climate Solutions creates jobs: Planting trees in both rural and urban areas helps create good new jobs while pulling carbon out of the air; these projects also help stimulate the outdoor recreation economy. For example, investing $4-4.5 billion dollars in tree planting can create up to 150,000 jobs. Environmental restoration programs focused on restoring coastal, forest and grassland ecosystems can create up to 40 jobs for each million dollars invested.
Natural Climate Solutions can serve as a mechanism for advancing equity, particularly in urban communities: Urban forestry programs are a particularly powerful force for reducing inequality in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Recent research indicates widespread inequality in tree cover between low-income and high-income neighborhoods. A program to plant 31.4 million urban trees a year can create nearly 230,000 new jobs. Urban trees can also reduce home energy costs up to 7%, while also reducing health care costs.
Natural Climate Solutions provide new sources of income for owners and managers of farms and forests: Farmers and foresters across America want to be a part of the solution to climate change – and in many cases, already are. Adoption of soil health practices have been proven to increase income and lower costs for farmers over time. Robust and credible carbon markets can also provide a new source of income for farmers and forest owners, while helping companies meet ambitious sustainability goals.

Please visit our new campaign page, www.usnature4climate.org/win-win, and the U.S. Nature4Climate blog to learn more about the powerful role Natural Climate Solutions can play in our economic recovery.

Nathan Henry is the Project Manager for U.S. Nature4Climate.

Bringing the Investment Community and Farmers Together to Transform U.S. Agriculture

The next decade requires unprecedented leadership if we are to meet the challenges of the next #30Harvests and tackle climate change. Farmers and ranchers are among the most at risk to climate change but also steward the potential to cycle carbon and sequester it.

That’s why more than ever they’re using climate-smart practices to make their businesses and the planet more resilient. But bringing those solutions to scale requires far greater resources than we’ve deployed to date. That’s where transformative investment comes into the picture.

I am proud to announce the launch of a new USFRA report, “Transformative Investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture: Unlocking the potential of our soils to help the U.S. achieve a net-zero economy.” Together with our partners from The Mixing Bowl, Croatan Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, we set out the opportunity to work with the financial sector to co-create, co-innovate and bring much-needed investment to sustainable agriculture.

Investors are waking up to that possibility. ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) funds are growing at $2 trillion per year. Yet, as we discovered in producing this report, agriculture is typically not part of these ESG portfolios. For example, in Q3 of 2020 alone, there was $10 billion in corporate support for green bond issuance and agriculture was not included at the table. That is a huge missed opportunity, with agriculture as a key sector that can contribute to positive impact.

How big is that potential? There is some $972 billion flowing annually into the agriculture value chain. That was an eye-opener. We didn’t realize all the different ways that private sector investment is influencing and interacting with our farmers, but in order to achieve our goals we need to encourage transformative investment from the finance sector towards our shared goals. Innovative financial mechanisms like green bonds and community finance could help farmers and ranchers tap into that capital.

New forms of investment would allow agriculture to realize the vision of enabling a net-zero economy, and the promise of carbon drawdown, by scaling up climate-smart agriculture practices. Just as the renewable energy sector benefited from renewable energy credits and tradeable credits, and innovative fintech strategies, the ag sector could benefit from the same approach. And investors benefit from a more diversified ESG portfolio.

There are signs things are changing. We are excited that the U.S. SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, in 2020 for the first time named sustainable natural resources/agriculture as one of the top three specific areas of interest for money managers and institutional investors.

This is an encouraging sign. Agriculture has both the innovation and the people-based commitment and values to act on the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the next decade.

But we can’t do it without addressing the economic equation of the sustainability conversation.

This report is an initial examination of what will be a long-term effort to bring farmers and ranchers and the financial community into productive conversation that leads to real solutions.

As a call to action to leaders in the financial sector, we’d like to see them:

Recognize that agriculture can be a solution to both society and the planet, on all levels of the Triple Bottom Line: social, environmental and economic.
Get involved in the Decade of Agriculture, where the urgency of acting on climate change demands all hands on deck.
Advance the financial innovation necessary to meet the broad needs of climate-smart agriculture
Join farmers and ranchers on a journey to understand how agriculture can become part of their broad investment portfolio to enable a U.S. net-zero economy.

If we get this right, we could put the U.S. agriculture sector on the road to becoming the first net negative GHG emissions sector in the economy for our future. And that’s a huge win for everyone.

Erin Fitzgerald is the Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action.

The Math is in: Soil Health Practices Produce Real Return on Investment

*_{Photo Credit: American Farmland Trust}*

Our nation’s farmers and ranchers care deeply about the land. They want to use practices that improve soil health and protect water quality like no-till or strip till, cover crops, and nutrient management.

But, farming is a business like any other. If the numbers don’t add up, it’s hard to make improvements that are good for the environment. Farming is a particularly challenging business and investing in new things can often seem too risky when you are hanging on by a thin margin.

That’s why I’m so excited about the release of new American Farmland Trust research that proves soil health benefits go right to farmers’ bottom line. AFT and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, or NRCS, released nine two-page case studies that show healthier soil on farmland brings economic benefits to farmers and environmental benefits to both farmers and society.

With support from a competitive NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, AFT staff interviewed “soil health successful” farmers about the costs and benefits they attribute to their soil health practices. Featured are two corn-soybean farmers from Illinois and Ohio; a farmer with diversified crop rotation from New York; and an almond grower from California whose soil health practices included conservation cover, mulching, and nutrient management techniques like fertigation and compost application.

The case studies quantify key economic factors like increased crop yields, decreased input costs, and increases in annual net income experienced by the four farmers who have invested in practices that build soil health. The economic results are impressive:

Increased crop yields: All four farmers saw increased crop yields averaging 12%, ranging from 2% to 22%
Increased profits: The three crop farmers saw an average increase in net income of $42 per acre per year and the almond grower’s net income increased on average $657 per acre per year
Significant Return on Investment (ROI): ROI for all four farmers averaged 176%, ranging from 35% to 343%

The farmers also report their soil health practices helped them solve erosion problems on their fields. To model the water quality and climate outcomes from soil health practices, AFT used USDA’s Nutrient Tracking Tool and USDA’s COMET-Farm Tool on one selected field in each farm (ranging from 11 to 110 acres). The environmental outcomes were equally impressive. On average, the soil health practices are resulting in:

A 54% reduction in nitrogen losses;
An 81% reduction in phosphorus losses;
An 85% reduction in sediment losses; and
A 379% reduction in total greenhouse gasses, on the selected fields.

Considering these findings, we hope that farmers across the country will:

Try the soil health practices knowing they are likely to pay off
Reach out to their local NRCS field office for technical or financial support
Approach their existing landowners to discuss implementation of soil health practices on rented land and establish leasing terms that will better share the risks and rewards of improved soil health
Approach new landlords about acquiring new fields and offer the quantitative evidence that improved soil health will offer a high return on investment on the landowner’s fields
Should farmers be successful in securing new fields, we hope they will then use the case studies with their bankers to secure additional financing for the farm expansion

We hope that fellow conservation partners in the public sector (e.g., NRCS, Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and non-profit organizations, etc.) and the private sector (e.g., cover crop seed dealers, no-till and strip-till equipment dealers, ag retailers, etc.) will use these case studies to help their clients better understand the benefits and costs of adopting soil health practices.

Visit www.farmland.org/soilhealthcasestudies or sign-up for email updates from AFT for the latest on soil health and more!

Dr. Michelle Perez is the water initiative director at American Farmland Trust.

Cargill and Soil Health Institute find farmer experience with soil health pays off. Here’s how.

This blog originally appeared on Environmental Defense Fund’s Growing Returns blog.

Findings from a recent Soil Health Institute study add to growing evidence that soil health practices can provide financial benefits to farmers.

The Soil Health Institute, with support from Cargill, interviewed 100 farmers across nine states to measure the farm budget impacts of soil health practices.

“I believe this work is a critical area and critical question that we need to better address as we look at scaling up of soil health principles,” said Ryan Sirolli, Global Row Crop Sustainability Director at Cargill, during a webinar hosted by the Soil Health Institute.

The Institute used a partial budget analysis, asking farmers about yield changes and specific cost changes directly associated with adopting soil health practices.

“It was important that they have experience”

The farmers participating in the study mostly produced corn and soybeans and utilized conservation tillage and cover crop soil health practices — all having more than five years’ experience with these practices.

“We felt it was important that they have experience in these soil health practices for at least five years, because it often takes some time before seeing benefits with these practices,” said Dr. John Shanahan, agronomist and project manager at the Soil Health Institute.

It turns out that experience pays off.

Across the 100 participating farms, the Soil Health Institute found that net income increased for 85% of farmers growing corn and 88% of farmers growing soybeans.

Sixty-seven percent of the participating farmers reported increased yields due to soil health practices. Adopting soil health practices also reduced average corn production costs by $24 per acre and soybean production costs by $17 per acre.

Overall, adopting soil health practices increased net farm income by $52 per acre for corn and $45 per acre for soybeans.

Still, adopting soil health practices like cover crops looks different on every farm.

Cover crops in particular take time

A recent study by Environmental Defense Fund, Soil Health Partnership and K·Coe Isom found that profitable cover crop adoption takes time to achieve.

Farmers with more than five years’ experience with cover crops had lower costs and greater net profits than farmers with less than five years of experience with cover crops, showing that adopting cover crops profitably can take time.

A key takeaway from the EDF and Soil Health Institute studies is that soil health practices like cover crops can be profitable over time, but scaling the adoption of these practices beyond the early adopters will require financial support across the first few years of adoption.

Broader resilience benefits from healthy soils

Another important finding from the Soil Health Institute study is that 97% of the participating farmers reported increased crop resilience to extreme weather from adopting soil health practices.

These resilience benefits support findings from a recent research paper that documented a positive relationship between soil organic matter, higher yields and lower yield losses under drought conditions.

Building crop resilience under extreme weather like droughts could be an especially important benefit of soil health practices, since farmers can incur significant financial losses when facing severe drought conditions.

To learn more about the Soil Health Institute study, visit soilhealthinstitute.org/economics.

Vincent Gauthier is a Working Lands Research Analyst for Environmental Defense Fund.

Sustainable Farming: Is There a Payoff?

Originally published by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers In Action. Read the article on their website here.

Farmers like Jared Hagert in North Dakota and the Schlichting family in Minnesota are finding good reasons to adopt sustainable farming practices. The emphasis on crop diversity and healthy soils is not just good for the environment — it adds to the bottom line, too.

Hagert is a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer from Northwood, North Dakota. “I believe farming rests on a three-legged stool of economics, conservation and social responsibility. Being sustainable means you serve all three,” he says.

Most farmers understand the first two legs — economics and conservation. The two support each other, Hagert says. For instance, he makes widespread use of cover crops in his fields to protect the soil and nutrients through the off-season. Rye seeded in early September provides another growing root mass at a time of year when soils often lie bare.

The economic payoff comes in several ways. The biomass mat on the soil surface suppresses early weed competition the following spring, potentially eliminating one application of herbicide and saving him $25 per acre or more.

Cover crops use up excess surface moisture in the spring, helping to dry out soils. “They work like a subsurface drain tile, getting us in the field quicker,” explains Hagert.

Some deep-rooted cover crops, like radishes, also help break up compacted soil. The payoff there is in eliminating a trip with a chisel plow (a farm implement used for deep tillage) to break up compaction, which saves at least a gallon of diesel fuel per acre.

Variable-rate technology is another way he achieves economic and conservation sustainability. “We split most of our fields into three to five zones, based on the data we have collected,” he says. “We put more nutrients in the zones where it will maximize the return on investment.” Other zones get less, which prevents overapplication and saves money.

The third leg of Hagert’s farm stool — social responsibility — is something farmers don’t often talk about, but something many practice. He breaks it down like this: Farmers must be good citizens and adhere to government laws and regulations, such as safety protocols. They also must be aware of the people around them, including employees, neighbors, business suppliers and even consumers, respecting the needs of all. And they should maintain a “giving back” mentality that goes along with being a contributor to society.

He thinks his farm’s use of modern technology contributes to its social responsibility. “We have the ability to show you when we sprayed or planted or applied fertilizer, what products we used, at what rates, and more,” he says. “Not everyone will want to see all that data, but someone might, and we want to be transparent.”

Is there a payoff? Hagert thinks these efforts have the potential to let them create a supply loop back to the farm. “The documentation of what we did and when we did it could be a marketing point for our farm,” he says.

He also points to the variety of ways farmers are involved in communities, such as county boards, schools, volunteer groups and commodity organizations. “They give us an opportunity to share about our farms in a positive way. It’s hard to put a dollar value to it, but I think it’s part of sustainability.”

Prairie Farms in central Minnesota is managed by Richard Schlichting and his daughter, Jocelyn Schlichting Hicks. Their goal is to operate the farm in such a way that they can do it forever, Hicks says. “It’s doing things to improve the land, being mindful of the natural things around you and protecting the water, too, Schlichting adds. “We’ve been doing sustainable practices for over 30 years, and we’re still here.”

They, too, start with cover crops as a key part of their sustainability practices. They usually seed cereal rye in the fall after harvesting potatoes or kidney beans, and the rye grows until the next planting season. They grow the seed rye themselves, and it costs about $12 per acre to grow and seed. They do it in combination with other fieldwork to limit field traffic and cost.

Their three-crop rotation — kidney beans, potatoes and corn — is also an integral part of their sustainability. Corn in the rotation breaks up the life cycle of some pests, particularly potato bugs, and saves pesticide expense.

Fertilizer applications are done in smaller shots throughout the season to reduce the potential for nutrient runoff or leaching into water sources. It also often saves money. Some fields get four or more fertilizer applications during the growing season, usually through the irrigation system.

“If I had to decide in June what total nitrogen to put on a corn field, I’d probably put on 100% of what I thought it needed, to make sure the crop doesn’t run out,” Schlichting says. “But with our system, the last application can be delayed to tasseling time; we decide then whether we need it or not. Sometimes that means we cut our nitrogen applications by at least 10%.”

More recently, Prairie Farms added automatic row shutoff technology (which eliminates double-planted areas) to its planters and section control (which reduces overapplication of spray) for all input applications to reduce input quantity and cost. All of their fields are irrigated, and the row shutoffs are especially valuable in the field corners where the irrigation water doesn’t reach. In sandy soils, those corners yield very poorly, essentially wasting that seed. “In the first year with the row shutoffs, we saved 50 bags of corn seed,” Hicks says. “That can pay for a lot of technology.”

It’s another reason the family says sustainable farming doesn’t cost; it pays. “It adds to our profitability,” Schlichting says.

Ambitious Climate Legislation in Massachusetts Sets the Bar for Other States

*_{Bass Hole boardwalk in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts. Photo Credit: Katherine Gendreau.}*

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Its impacts can be seen clearly as sea levels continue to rise, heat waves become more frequent and storms intensify. To help avoid some of the worst impacts yet to come, immediate action is needed to not only stop further greenhouse gas emissions, but also to remove the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that is already in the air.

In March, Massachusetts passed An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy, a groundbreaking and ambitious law that sets a net zero emissions goal–the new global standard–and requires the Commonwealth to decarbonize our economy by decreasing our use of fossil fuels and harnessing nature to draw carbon from the air.

“The new law reflects Governor Charlie Baker’s and the state legislature’s recognition that climate change impacts are touching down in the Commonwealth’s communities today, and we need to address the causes and effects to protect our future,” says Steve Long, director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Massachusetts. “Once again, Massachusetts policymakers have modeled bipartisan collaboration and leadership to address climate change that should serve as inspiration for policymakers on the national stage.”

The law also provides a robust toolkit of policies and strategies—such as requirements and incentives to reduce emissions from energy production, transportation, and buildings—and ensures accountability by setting goals for interim carbon emissions reductions between now and 2050.

_{TNC hosted a Natural Climate Solutions briefing for legislators at the Massachusetts State House in 2019. From left to right: Emily Myron, Laura Marx, State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, State Representative Bradley Jones, State Senator Bruce Tarr, Kurt Gaertner of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Steve Long. Photo Credit: Loren Dowd/TNC}

TNC led the advocacy for the inclusion of Natural Climate Solutions in the legislation. As the bill moved through the Senate and House of Representatives, we heard bipartisan support for the benefits of Natural Climate Solutions. During Senate floor debate, Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) said, “We will not achieve the reductions we need without carbon sequestration and storage. It is our Commonwealth that has the lungs of New England.” And House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) noted that, “A comprehensive, multi-faceted approach is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Using forests and other natural and working lands to promote carbon sequestration is one of the most effective ways for the state to achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Natural Climate Solutions are strategies that protect, restore, and better manage natural and working lands—such as forests, farms, and wetlands—to remove carbon from the air and store it long term. We believe this law is the first in the nation to require the state to set goals for both reducing emissions from and increasing sequestration by natural and working lands, and to create a plan to achieve those goals.

*_{Northampton Tree. Photo Credit: Lauren Owens Lambert}*.

Massachusetts’ forests currently remove the equivalent of nearly five million metric tons of CO₂ from the air each year, an amount equal to nearly seven percent of our carbon emissions. Natural Climate Solutions have the potential to remove an additional one to two million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per year across the state—about the same amount of carbon as is emitted by 435,000 cars annually.

In addition to capturing carbon, implementing Natural Climate Solutions can bring communities many other benefits, as well. For example, protecting forests and wetlands helps clean our water and air and provides habitat for wildlife. Better managing farmland ensures healthy soils and can increase agricultural yields. And restoring wetlands and salt marshes helps reduce flood risks and enhances our fisheries. In urban areas, tree planting and creating green space can reduce the heat island effect, lower energy use in nearby buildings and reduce air pollution to improve public health.

As we move forward, it is also critical to ensure a just transition to a decarbonized economy and address the disproportionate impacts of climate change felt by underserved and overburdened communities. The new law includes important environmental justice provisions designed to enhance review of the health and cumulative impacts of projects proposed in communities with environmental justice populations and to ensure that residents have reasonable access and information to meaningfully engage in the public processes concerning those projects. TNC was proud to support environmental justice partners in advocating for these protections.

“The requirement in the new law that cumulative impacts be considered reflects the reality that the health and well-being of our communities and our environment are inextricably linked,” says Eugenia Gibbons, Massachusetts director of climate policy at Health Care Without Harm. “The environmental justice protections mark an important step towards ensuring that communities historically excluded from decision making that has left them burdened by environmental harm have reasonable access to information and an opportunity to engage meaningfully going forward.”

At the same time TNC was advocating for the climate legislation, they led a working group on the state’s climate council to inform the science and policy recommendations for natural climate solutions in the Commonwealth’s 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan. The plan prioritizes the state’s action for the next ten years and will guide implementation of strategies to meet emissions reductions targets in the law. TNC collaborated with climate justice partners to jointly develop a policy framework and recommend Natural Climate Solutions strategies for equity and justice.

*_{Governor Baker signing Next-Generation Road Map legislation.}*

“The legislation signed by Governor Baker is supported by a comprehensive, science-based analysis with significant stakeholder input that took place over a two-year period, culminating with the Administration’s 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap and Clean Energy and Climate Plan,” says Kathleen Theoharides, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary for Massachusetts. “As we move toward implementing this nation-leading legislation, including important provisions around natural working lands and protecting our environmental justice communities, the Baker-Polito Administration remains committed to achieving our climate goals in an equitable manner that protects our most vulnerable residents.”

TNC in Massachusetts could not have realized our accomplishments without a team effort that provided an effective combination of policy and science, which included Steve Long, Laura Marx, forest ecologist and Emily Myron, policy manager.

An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy is formative legislation that could be emulated across the U.S., bringing people together across the aisle and leading to important and impactful changes for the future of people and nature.

Loren Dowd is a Marketing and Communications Manager at The Nature Conservancy.

It Starts with a Seed: Producing High Quality Native Seed for Restoration in the Willamette Valley

*_{Oregon iris production field}*. _{Photo Credit: Institute for Applied Ecology}.

Historically, the Willamette Valley of Oregon was lush with fields of purple camas (Camassia quamash) and rosy seablush (Plectritis congesta) in the spring and western goldenrod (Solidago lepida) highlighted by the last rays of sun in the fall. Today this prairie habitat is among the most endangered ecosystems in North America with over 90% of upland and wet prairie habitat converted to other uses. Consequently, there has been a drastic decline of native plant and wildlife species dependent on these habitats. Conservation practitioners have been actively restoring this critical habitat for decades but have been challenged to find high quality, diverse native seed for their projects.

Grassland restoration provides a whole suite of benefits for both people and nature. Grasslands provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and they improve water quality and stabilize soil, which reduces runoff and erosion. Grassland restoration is also an important nature-based solution for addressing climate change by storing carbon in soil and root systems. Recent research indicates that restoring 5 million acres of marginal cropland to grasslands has the potential to store an additional 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year – the equivalent of removing 1.9 million cars from the road each year.

In 2012 the Willamette Valley Native Plant Partnership was created to help solve this problem. The Partnership was formed by 21 restoration organizations and native plant producers who had a vision to create a partnership that would cooperatively fund and produce plant materials for use in restoration, revegetation, and mitigation throughout the region. The main goal was to create a supply of seed that was genetically diverse and ecologically appropriate. Research shows that using genetically diverse, locally sourced native plant materials increases establishment and overall success of restoration projects.

To achieve this goal, the approach taken was to collect seed from many source populations throughout the Willamette Valley to capture a broad genetic base for each species. This seed was then used to establish farm fields of high priority native species so partners could purchase seed for use in their restoration projects. Within its first year the Partnership built an organizational infrastructure, hired a seasonal seed collection crew, and entered its first two species into production – slender cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis) and western goldenrod (Solidago lepida var. salebrosa).

*_{Restored prairie at Herbert Farm just outside of Corvallis. Photo Credit: Institute for Applied Ecology}*.

Since its beginnings nearly a decade ago, the Partnership has been striving to represent the vision of the Plant Conservation Alliance Native Seed Strategy – “the right seed in the right place at the right time”. Over six seasons, crews have collected 72 pounds of seed from 27 native species from hundreds of wild populations scattered throughout the Willamette Valley. Now, 21 species have been put into production which has resulted in a yield of over 3,100 pounds of native seed. Approximately two-thirds of this seed has been distributed to partners and spread in prairie habitats throughout the ecoregion. These native seeds will grow into mature plants and help in restoring function to these endangered ecosystems.

Programs like the Willamette Valley Native Plant Partnership play a key role in advancing these restoration efforts. Ensuring that landowners and managers working to restore grasslands have access to “the right seed at the right place at the right time” significantly increases the chance of achieving successful and enduring outcomes. This, in turn, helps unlock the carbon storage potential of these restored grasslands, while also ensuring the newly established plants are resilient to changes over time resulting from climate change.

Lessons for Reforestation Programs

According to a new study released by The Nature Conservancy, US Forest Service, academic researchers and American Forests , an ambitious program to reforest lands that were historically forested in the U.S. will require 3 billion tree seedlings a year – a 2.3-fold increase in the number of seedlings currently produced. This will require new investment in collecting and storing a broader diversity of genetically appropriate seeds, increasing nursery capacity to grow seedlings, and in the development of a trained workforce to collect seeds, plant seedlings and ensure their successful growth.

The approach taken by the Willamette Valley Native Plant Partnership offers a good model for providing the market certainty to diversify the seed stock for reforestation and spur new investments in nursery capacity. By identifying sources of genetically appropriate seeds, hiring and training workers to collect and sort seeds, and providing nurseries with the seeds necessary to support reforestation efforts, we can increase the chance that these efforts will succeed.

This article was adapted from an article that first appeared on the Pacific Birds website.

Alexis Larsen is the Native Seed Partnership Coordinator at the Institute for Applied Ecology.

Roadmap to a Solar Energy Future on Long Island

_{Mid- to large-scale solar arrays, like the one at the H. Lee Dennison County Center in Hauppauge, Long Island, offer a host of benefits. Photo Credit: The Nature Conservancy}

As seen from above, the solar carport at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, Long Island, twinkles in the sun. Since 2011, the solar canopies there, laid out in rows above the parking spaces, have generated shade in the hot summer months and carbon-free electricity all year round, along with a multitude of other benefits: improved air quality and improved public health; jobs that pay above the national average; reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and income for Suffolk County, which has leased the parking lot to the array’s developer.

The even better news about this solar project and ones like it—mid-to-large-scale arrays of at least 250 kilowatts—is that they can play a pivotal role in meeting New York State’s nation-leading climate and clean energy goals. In fact, these arrays, also called commercial- and industrial-scale solar, have the potential to generate more electricity than Long Island uses each year—enough to power 4.8 million homes. And, according to a new report, they can do it without negatively impacting many of the places Long Islanders hold dear—the region’s farmlands and forests, its cultural heritage sites and open spaces.

The Long Island Solar Roadmap explores how to advance solar development on the country’s most populated island while safeguarding the landscapes people value most and expanding access to clean energy, especially for low-to-moderate income residents and people of color. Funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife, and informed by a consortium of 38 local stakeholders, the Roadmap offers a first-of-its-kind online mapping tool that identifies areas for responsible solar development and lays out clear strategies for lowering barriers to the clean energy technology.

“This report shows that in scaling up solar, we don’t have to choose between one ‘green’ good—clean energy—and another—undisturbed forests, open spaces, and farmland….With the right approach, we have room for it all.”

– Jessica Price, New York Renewable Energy Strategy Lead

Mapping Opportunities for Solar Development

_{Photo Credit: Ruslan Dashinsky/iStock}

Like so much other work at The Nature Conservancy, this project got its start with the awareness of a problem. In 2016, several proposed large solar projects on Long Island were very publicly shot down because they would have required clear-cutting forests. “I was having lots of conversations with folks about where solar projects shouldn’t go,” says Jessica Price, The Nature Conservancy’s New York renewable energy strategy lead. “What I was really interested in talking about was where they should go.”

To help figure that out, The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife brought together utilities, municipalities, solar developers, commercial property owners, farmers and community groups to talk about what they valued and how those values could be used to inform decisions about solar siting. The team also undertook an ambitious effort to digitally map Nassau and Suffolk counties, creating new computer tools to identify the types of land that should be off-limits to solar development and the areas where solar could be prioritized.

What they found, Price says, was a major opportunity: “Even though we don’t have large swaths of undeveloped land on Long Island, we have plenty of parking lots, warehouse roofs, brownfields, capped landfills and other areas already impacted by development.” Support for solar sited in such places is plentiful, too. Public opinion research conducted as part of the project found that 92 percent of Long Islanders surveyed endorse the use of mid-to-large-scale solar, and the technology is especially popular when sited on parking lots and rooftops and when projects are developed and installed by local companies.

Ramping up Solar and its Many Benefits

The report also explores the impacts that scaling up solar could have on reducing carbon emissions and improving public health. Installing just one-quarter of the solar potential identified in the project could cut carbon pollution equivalent to removing more than 700,000 cars from Long Island’s roads. And over 20 years, that amount of solar could improve air quality enough to save 36 lives and prevent as many as 28 hospitalizations. Ramping up solar to that degree could also create thousands of local jobs and improve the access of low-and-moderate income residents and people of color to clean energy.

Now, Price and others will take the map on the road or, for the time being, to virtual meetings with local officials and others interested in advancing mid-to-large scale solar on Long Island. “Solar power offers incredible benefits,” says Price. “This report shows that in scaling up solar, we don’t have to choose between one ‘green’ good—clean energy—and another—undisturbed forests, open spaces, and farmland. Even on densely populated Long Island, with the right approach, we have room for it all.”

Download the Long Island Solar Roadmap Report.

Liz Galst is a Communications Manager for the New York division of The Nature Conservancy, focusing on Long Island.

New research shows the incredible potential of America’s agricultural soils to combat climate change

Rebuilding carbon stocks in agricultural soils is not only crucial for the continued productivity of our nation’s farmland and livelihood of its farm families, but also necessary to combat the impacts of climate change.

Despite a recent uptick in soil health practice adoption, fewer than a third of the 260 million U.S. acres in row crops are managed with no-till, and less than 5% use cover crops. By increasing the use of just these two practices, U.S. farmers have an unparalleled opportunity to combat climate change, improve water quality, and build on-farm resilience and profitability.

American Farmland Trust’s new report, “Combating Climate Change on U.S. Cropland,” focuses on the significant potential of no-till and cover crop practices to increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce nitrous oxide emissions for a net reduction in GHG emissions.

While it is unrealistic to expect farmers to make management changes overnight, increased and sustained use of no-till/strip till and cover crops is achievable with current technology, rendering these practices readily available to offer immediate climate solutions.

As part of its report, American Farmland Trust (AFT) evaluated a near-term scenario focused on row crop acres in selected corn belt and southeast states. It found that acres in the study region using cover crops and/or no-till are already reducing net GHG emissions by 67.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year. If rapid adoption of these two practices in the next 3-5 years happens in the study area, then net GHG emissions can be reduced by an additional 29.6 million metric tons of CO2e per year, for a total of 97 million metric tons of CO2e per year.

Bottom line – if farmers on a fraction of U.S. cropland rapidly increase adoption of cover crops and no-till in line with AFT’s scenario analysis, the total acreage of these two practices will sequester the equivalence of removing 21 million passenger cars from the road for a year or growing 1.6 billion tree seedlings for one year.

U.S. farmers could deliver these benefits in the next three to five years if federal and state governments provide additional support, prioritize financial and technical assistance programs, and develop innovative incentives.

_{Diagram depicting a basic soil carbon cycle. When the amount of organic carbon added to the soil is protected and exceeds the amount that is lost, soil organic matter increases, leading to long-term carbon sequestration}

While 100% adoption of no-till and cover crops is unrealistic, these two practices are just a starting point, and the implementation of additional synergistic practices on cropland and grazing land could significantly combat climate change through reductions in GHG emissions and increased soil carbon sequestration.

Even greater climate benefits beyond the near-term scenario in AFT’s report could be realized by expanding the technical, financial, and social support for farmers and ranchers. Agricultural soils have significant potential to capture and store soil carbon—but only when we give our farmers the support they need.

For this reason, AFT is encouraging the Biden Administration to act now by prioritizing the protection of America’s most threatened working lands and the broad implementation of conservation practices in the attainment of their ambitious 30 x 30 goals of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.

For more information on the role farms and ranches can play in combatting climate change, visit www.farmland.org/climate.

Brennan Hafner is a Writer and Editor at American Farmland Trust.