Eight months after devastating fires swept through Sonoma County, our community has rallied to an ongoing recovery. Still, the tragedy of those wildfires remains fresh in the minds of our friends and neighbors. The lives and property that were lost last year can never be replaced.  As the dry season begins a new and unfortunate truth comes to mind: California is a drought-prone state, and there will always be some risk of wildfire. In Sonoma and Marin Counties, active rangeland management is one of the most important actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of wildfire to our community.

Sonoma and Marin Counties comprise large amounts of rangeland. The key to reducing fire risk on rangeland parcels is effective management of the volume of flammable grasses, known as Residual Dry Matter (RDM), which exists on the land during the summer months.  Historically, three methods have been employed to manage RDM: mowing, controlled burning, and grazing.  However, mowing is rarely cost-effective at the landscape scale, and concerns over air pollution have significantly restricted the viability of controlled burning as a management technique.  Grazing is the best remaining tool for RDM management, and it provides the additional social benefit of producing agricultural income. 

Any social program or economic structure that incentivizes grazing therefore indirectly incentivizes the most effective fire management tool available for use on rangelands.  A conservation easement is one such economic structure.  A conservation easement is an agreement between a landowner and a land conservation group, such as the Sonoma County Agriculture Preservation & Open Space District, Sonoma Land Trust, Marin Agriculture Land Trust or the California Rangeland Trust.    Under a conservation easement agreement the landowner receives a lump sum payment from the conservation group in return for accepting legally-binding prohibitions on further development of the land.  In addition to the lump sum payment, landowners often receive a reduction in their annual property tax liability.  Conservation groups, as well the community in general, receive benefits ranging from views of open space to preservation of wildlife habitat.  If the easement is “an affirmative agricultural easement” and on rangelands, it will most likely be grazed.  An affirmative agricultural easement is a voluntary legal agreement that restricts the use of land only to agriculture.   Affirmative agricultural easements are one of several different legal tools to help ranchers balance goals of: 1) generating revenue for ranching or retirement; 2) making their land more affordable to future ranchers; 3) keeping their rangelands “working”; and 4) maintaining a treasured legacy of sustainable working landscape stewardship.

There is only one affirmative agricultural easement in Sonoma County, Marin County has many more. Many conservation easements in Sonoma and Marin Counties have been managed by the same families for multiple generations, many have changed ownership with the easement attached.   One of the primary advantages of conservation easements is that they typically allow existing agricultural practices to continue on the conserved parcel; however the economics of agriculture change over time. It might be more advantageous to sustain local agriculture, reduce fire risks, and keep our working landscapes “working” if conservation groups reassessed conversation easements written years ago. Climate change, ranching and farming economics and agricultural practices have changed and keep evolving.  Agricultural operations that remain economically viable will keep our cultural heritage for generations to come. 

Traditionally, when a landowner sells a conservation easement to a conservation group, the landowner receives a one-time lump sum payment in exchange for accepting permanent development restrictions on their land.  It may be possible for a land trusts to manage its finances for greater returns or less risk relative to the options available to landowners.

Also, where land trusts can improve landowner welfare, and landowners can select the payment structure that best aligns with their preferences.  Tailoring payment structures to individual landowners, conservation groups may be able to stretch their conservation dollar further, improving the welfare of the taxpayers or donors that support the group.  Additionally, building trust between landowners and conservation groups has the potential to improve welfare for both. UCCE is exploring alternative payment structures for conservation easements, in addition to lump sums.

The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) is finalizing a research project that has examined that equivalent, alternative payment structures, such as a perpetuity or variable annual payment, could provide greater welfare to both the landowner and the conservation group.  Our preliminary research findings shows that many landowners state a preference for an alternative payment structure, and that heterogeneity in those preferences is correlated with self-identification as a rancher/farmer. 

In order to evaluate changing perceptions of conservation easements over time, UC Cooperative Extension of Sonoma County, is conducting a phone survey of landowners in Sonoma and Marin Counties.  This brief survey is aimed at all owners of parcels greater than 50 acres that currently support livestock or have the potential to support livestock.  Full participation in the survey will help UC Cooperative Extension better meet the needs of the agricultural communities in Sonoma and Marin Counties. If you receive a call, your participation will be greatly appreciated.  It's your opportunity to help us direct the future of conservation easements in Sonoma and Marin Counties.

 

To accelerate California's policy leadership in the face of global crises like water scarcity, climate change and uneven economic development between urban and rural areas, it is essential to recognize of the importance of the state's natural capital, especially in relation to working landscapes and rural economies. The California Economic Summit defines working landscapes to include farmland, ranches, forest, wetlands, mines, water bodies and other natural resource lands, both private and public. Carbon is the energy currency of most biological systems, including agricultural ecosystems. All agricultural production originates from the process of plant photosynthesis, which uses sunshine to combine carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air with water and minerals from the soil to produce plant material, both above and below ground.

Agriculture is the ONE sector that can transform from a net emitter of CO2 to a net sequestered of CO2.

There is no other human-managed realm with this potential. Common agricultural practices, including driving a tractor, tilling the soil, grazing, result in the return of CO2 to the air. However, all farming is “carbon farming” because all agricultural production depends upon plant photosynthesis to move carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and into the plant, where it is transformed into agricultural products, whether food, flora, fuel or fiber. Agriculture contributes only 9 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the US (EPA); and agricultural landscapes, particularly grassland/rangelands, have great potential to function as a sponge for carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. The maximum capacity of soil to store organic carbon is determined by soil type (percent clay); management practices implemented to maximize plant growth and minimize losses of organic carbon from soil can increase organic carbon storage in soil. Keeping working lands “working” can result in long-term carbon storage (decades to centuries or more) in soils.

Rangelands:

There is a growing body of work suggesting that significant amounts of carbon can be stored in soil. This is particularly true on rangelands, which house approximately 30 percent of terrestrial carbon stocks in addition to a substantial amount of aboveground carbon in trees, plants and grasses, and can hold carbon over longer periods of time (FAO, 2009; Flynn, A., et al., 2009; White, R., et al., 2000). Management of rangelands, through grazing, can lead to increased forage production, longer growing seasons and a potential conversion to a perennial system. Grazing stimulates plant growth through a variety of mechanisms, resulting in increased carbon capture by the grazed ecosystem. The potential to increase the amount of carbon held in rangeland ecosystems or to minimize losses of existing carbon offer landowners an opportunity to manage their lands in ways that contribute to climate change mitigation by encouraging carbon sequestration. This can be done by increasing carbon inputs and uptake, decreasing or preventing carbon releases, or both. Given that there are 57 million acres of rangeland in California alone, and that rangeland is the largest land type on our planet today, these practices can make a significant contribution to carbon sequestration.

How to increase carbon stored:

An approach known as “Carbon Farming” involves implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or soil organic matter. Carbon farming is successful when carbon gains resulting from enhanced land management and/or conservation practices exceed carbon losses. These practices increase the amount of photosynthetically captured carbon held, or “sequestered”, in long-term carbon pools on the farm or ranch, including soil organic matter, perennial plant roots and standing woody biomass. This results in a direct reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Expanding Carbon Markets:

Expanding investment in programs that support carbon sequestration in soil, such as the Healthy Soils Program, can create stronger financial incentives for ranchers to implement these practices (De Gryze, S., et al., 2009). Moreover, given the well-established relationship between soil organic matter (of which an average of 50 - 56 percent is carbon) and the ability of soils to retain water (Huntington, 2007; Pribyl, 2010; Rawls et al., 2003), such a market could contribute to watershed function, natural groundwater recharge and overall water provision. The scientific consensus surrounding the relation between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global climate change has indicated a clear need for the U.S. to find new ways to reduce emissions of these gases and the concentrations in the atmosphere to avoid significant and potentially catastrophic environmental changes. Land management for carbon sequestration is one of many opportunities available to the U.S., more locally in California, to reduce their net emissions of GHGs, particularly CO2. Carbon-oriented management of working landscapes may offer landowners the opportunity to obtain a new source of income while simultaneously helping to mitigate climate change. The payment for ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, may be a potential solution to climate change. The value of California's natural capital will be an important part of the conversations at the 2017 California Economic Summit taking place in San Diego on November. Solutions like improving the state's ecosystem services management represent ways to boost California's triple bottom line: simultaneous growth in the economy, improvement in environmental quality, and increased opportunity.

Stephanie Larson is director of University of California Cooperative Extension, Sonoma County; and Adam Livingston is director of planning and policy at the Sequoia Riverlands Trust

Carbon is the energy currency of most biological systems, including agricultural ecosystems. All agricultural production originates from the process of plant photosynthesis, which uses sunshine to combine carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air with water and minerals from the soil to produce plant material, both above and below ground.

Agriculture is the ONE sector that can

transform from a net emitter of CO₂ 
to a net sequestered of CO₂

There is no other human-managed realm with this potential. Common agricultural practices, including driving a tractor, tilling the soil, grazing, result in the return of C0₂ to the air. However, all farming is “carbon farming” because all agricultural production depends upon plant photosynthesis to move carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and into the plant, where it is transformed into agricultural projects, whether food, flora, fuel or fiber.

 

Agriculture only contributes 9% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the US.¹ Agriculture, particularly grassland/rangelands, have a great potential to function as a sponge for carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.  The maximum capacity of soil to store organic carbon is determined by soil type (% clay). However, management practices, implemented to maximize plant growth and minimize losses of organic carbon from soil, will result in greatest organic carbon storage in soil. Keeping working lands “working” can result in carbon stored long term (decades to centuries or more) beneficially in soils in a process called soil carbon sequestration; long-term carbon storage (decades to centuries or more) in soils.

 

Keeping working lands “working” can result in

carbon stored long term

Rangelands:  There are 23 million hectares of rangeland in California alone, and it is the largest land type on our planet today.  Management of rangelands, through grazing, can lead to increased forage production, longer growing season and a potential conversion to a perennial system. Implementation of practices can meet both ranch goals while increasing the carbon sequestration on rangelands. Grazing stimulates plant growth through a variety of mechanisms, resulting in increased carbon capture by the grazed ecosystem. The potential to increase the amount of carbon held in rangeland ecosystems or to minimize losses of existing carbon offer landowners an opportunity to manage their lands in ways that contribute to climate change mitigation by encouraging carbon sequestration. This can be done by increasing carbon inputs and uptake, decreasing or preventing carbon releases, or both.

How to increase carbon stored: A practice, known as “Carbon Farming” involves implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or soil organic matter.  Carbon farming is successful when carbon gains resulting from enhanced land management and/or conservation practices exceed carbon losses.  Management practices that increase the amount of photosynthetically-captured carbon held, or “sequestered”, in long-term carbon pools on the farm or ranch, include soil organic matter, perennial plant roots and standing woody biomass. This results in a direct reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  

Loren Poncia, Stemple Creek Ranch, has implemented a carbon farming plan to not only sequester carbon but enhance the quality and quality of his forage. Loren owns a grass based beef operation, and his animals are born, raised and finished on grass.  He needs to supply adequate nutrition for his cattle have proper growth to his meet market goals. As part of his carbon plan, Loren implemented a grazing management plan, to promote perennial grasses growth. Perennials have deeper root systems, and will store more carbon, deeper in the soil. Loren checks the quality of his forage using a spectrometer, measuring sugar levels in the grasses, (Figure 1).

Expanding Carbon Markets: There is a growing body of work suggesting that significant amounts of carbon can be stored in soil.  This is particularly true on rangeland, which houses approximately 30 percent of terrestrial carbon stocks in addition to a substantial amount of aboveground carbon in trees, plants and grasses, and can hold carbon over longer periods of time.² Expanding investment in programs, such as Carbon Farming and the Healthy Soils Program, can support agricultural practices that add to these stocks, creating potential markets to pay ranchers for sequestering carbon.³ Moreover, given the well-established relationship between soil organic matter (of which an average of 50 - 56% is carbon) and the ability of soils to retain water,⁴ such a market could contribute to watershed function, natural groundwater recharge and overall water provision.

The scientific consensus surrounding the relation between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global climate change has indicated a clear need for the US to find new ways to reduce emissions of these gases and the concentrations in the atmosphere to avoid significant and potentially catastrophic environmental changes. Land management for carbon sequestration is one of many opportunities available to the US, more locally in California, to reduce their net emissions of GHGs, particularly CO². Carbon-oriented management of rangelands may offer landowners the opportunity to obtain a new source of income while simultaneously helping to mitigate climate change. The payment for ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, may be a potential solution to climate change.

_____________________________

¹ EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions

² FAO, 2009; Flynn, A., et al., 2009; White, R., et al., 2000.

³ De Gryze, S., et al., 2009.

⁴ Huntington, 2007; Pribyl, 2010; Rawls et al., 2003. 

From UCANR California Agriculture magazine

Using InVEST to assess ecosystem services on
conserved properties in Sonoma County, CA

The purchase of conservation easements on agricultural land is one approach to preventing residential development on working landscapes. The authors present a low-cost tool for assessing ecosystem service values across large areas, a step toward quantifying the benefits of land conservation.

Abstract