Eddy’s role in monitoring carbon
James Rambaud, Carbon Emissions & Sequestration Technologist, reports on the use of Eddy Covariance Flux Towers and why Teagasc is installing 28 of these measuring devices on sites across the country.
In 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine funded the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory (NASCO). An infrastructure of 28 Eddy Covariance Flux Towers is being placed in particular areas of interest on farms throughout the country. These sites include peatlands, mineral soils, different farming systems and varying climatic regions. Whilst Eddy Covariance might sound a bit of a mouthful, it’s simply the term used to describe a technique that’s used by scientists to measure how much CO2 moves in and out of our farms at field scale.
At the National Ploughing Championships this week, James told us more on his role and the use of Eddy Covariance Flux towers. Watch the video below:
Why are we doing this?
It will give us accurate and long-lasting data about how carbon behaves on our farms. NASCO will provide data and ancillary data to projects like Teagasc’s SignPost Progranne farms, VistaMilk, Terrain AI, and the Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP). Collectively, this infrastructure and the output from these projects will put Ireland at the forefront of carbon research internationally.
How will NASCO help the agricultural sector?
- It will help us understand how carbon moves in and out of our agricultural ecosystems;
- It will inform us on how much carbon our soils can hold and how weather, soil type, and farm management influences this;
- It will demonstrate whether our mitigation strategies are having an impact and how well they’re working;
- Enable us to refine the National inventory and emission factors which will lead to well-informed policy decisions;
- Allow for participation in the EU ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) network.
Click here for more information on the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory.
Teagasc at the Ploughing
Over the course of the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois, Teagasc Daily has brought you some of the key highlights from the Teagasc exhibition from the event. See more below:
Teagasc at the National Ploughing Championships
5-star ewes deliver for productivity and profitability
Factors influencing contaminant losses to water
New and exciting opportunities for forestry creation on farms
Selecting the appropriate actions to reduce gaseous emissions on tillage farms
Food chemistry at the National Ploughing Championships
Using digital tools to support Teagasc advisory services
Using genetics to take the guesswork out of selecting animals for beef