Part 1: Air and Land | Understanding the Carbon Cycle on a Cattle Ranch

The research alliance, led by Dr. Betsey Boughton, director of agroecology at Archbold, probes the intricate relationship between cattle and the environment to discover the impact of cattle on the ecosystem and vice versa.
Watch this next: • Part 2: Ruminant Anima...
Instead of relying on standard carbon GHG emissions estimates, the research team at Archbold’s Buck Island Ranch uses eddy flux towers to directly measure GHGs in the atmosphere and evaluate carbon capture by the soil. They also gather soil samples, maintain a soil sample database, and track cattle-grazing patterns using GPS. By comparing past records of cattle and pasture management, plant growth and soil biodiversity with present data, they can analyze how changes in nutrition and management practices impact the ranch’s ecosystem.
With the assistance of Alltech E-CO2, Archbold used historical operations and economic data to model total ranch GHG emissions over multiple years. Next, Alltech helped connect Archbold with the University of Illinois and HabiTerre, a technology company that monitors, measures and analyzes environmental impact, to create a GHG emissions model on the ranch that included sequestration.
Located within the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, Buck Island contains a combination of improved pastures, semi-native pastures, woodlands and wetlands. According to Dr. Boughton, the fact that Buck Island is a net-carbon sink is particularly noteworthy because the land is very wet.
“We have more emissions than other places because we are so wet. Nineteen to 30% of the methane emissions from our pastures are from cattle, but the rest is from these wet soils and wetlands,” she said. “So those are a really big source of methane that people don’t always acknowledge.”
Drier locations could be even larger carbon sinks. Those locations likely have fewer emissions, but the carbon sequestration potential could be the same or even larger.
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Explore Archbold's Buck Island Station: www.archbold-s...
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[@mdzaebel]

Are there or will there be peer reviewed studies that support the research findings?

[@czujnyobserwator]

Nie musi być le wa cka ściero, takich jak wy do wora a wór do ... jeziora

[@mh752]

This is really interesting, but where's the research?

[@Alltech]

Thanks for watching and your question. At this time, the intent is to use the extensive array of data collection and sensors to build a model that will allow us to estimate carbon flow in grazing pasture lands. These models will then be evaluated in other systems to evaluate their robustness.
The full story can be found on our website if you would like to explore further: www.alltech.com/planet-of-plenty/stories/video/can-cattle-combat-climate-change