In 2008, agricultural greenhouse gas sources accounted for about 6% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Agriculture and Forestry Greenhouse Gas Inventory: 1990-2008 was developed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of U.S. agriculture and forestry to greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. It provides extensive, in-depth emissions and sinks estimates for livestock, cropland, and forests, as well as energy consumption in livestock and cropland agriculture. Estimates are provided at State, regional, and national scales, categorized by land ownership and management practices where possible. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

Global climate change is a natural process that currently appears to be strongly influenced by human activities, which increase atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG). Agriculture contributes about 20% of the world’s global radiation forcing from carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, and produces 50% of the methane and 70% of the nitrous oxide of the human-induced emission. Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases synthesizes the wealth of information generated from the GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) effort with contributors from a variety of backgrounds, and reports findings with important international applications. Frames responses to challenges associated with climate change within the geographical domain of the U.S., while providing a useful model for researchers in the many parts of the world that possess similar ecoregions Covers not only soil C dynamics but also nitrous oxide and methane flux, filling a void in the existing literature Educates scientists and technical service providers conducting greenhouse gas research, industry, and regulators in their agricultural research by addressing the issues of GHG emissions and ways to reduce these emissions Synthesizes the data from top experts in the world into clear recommendations and expectations for improvements in the agricultural management of global warming potential as an aggregate of GHG emissions

The agriculture (ag) sector is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Ag. is also a ¿sink¿ for sequestering carbon, which might offset GHG emissions by capturing and storing carbon in ag. soils. The two key types of GHG emissions associated with agricultural activities are methane and nitrous oxide. Contents of this report: (1) Ag. Sinks and Emissions: Source of Nat. Est.; Ag. Emissions; Ag. Carbon Sinks; Potential for Additional Uptake; (2) Mitigation Strategies in the Ag. Sector: Federal Programs; State Programs; (3) Congressional Action: Climate Change Proposals; 2008 Farm Bill Provisions; Related Initiatives Involving U.S. Ag.; Considerations for Congress. Illus.

The world's nations are moving toward agreements that will bind us together in an effort to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. With such agreements will come the need for all nations to make accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor changes over time. In this context, the present book focuses on the greenhouse gases that result from human activities, have long lifetimes in the atmosphere and thus will change global climate for decades to millennia or more, and are currently included in international agreements. The book devotes considerably more space to CO2 than to the other gases because CO2 is the largest single contributor to global climate change and is thus the focus of many mitigation efforts. Only data in the public domain were considered because public access and transparency are necessary to build trust in a climate treaty. The book concludes that each country could estimate fossil-fuel CO2 emissions accurately enough to support monitoring of a climate treaty. However, current methods are not sufficiently accurate to check these self-reported estimates against independent data or to estimate other greenhouse gas emissions. Strategic investments would, within 5 years, improve reporting of emissions by countries and yield a useful capability for independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions reported by countries.