Posts Tagged: ecosystem services
Match.Graze launches to reduce wildfire fuel, feed livestock
Matchmaking grazing animals with grass and rangelands Professional grazing of overgrown...
MG-UCCE-Cattle-03
New data on cover crops to be shared in July 23rd Desert Southwest Soil Health Webinar!
Information on the dynamics of long-term use of winter cover crops in California's San Joaquin Valley will be shared with online participants as part of the Desert Southwest Soil Health Webinar (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/desert-southwest-soil-health-webinar-tickets-107732693386), slated for July 23rd from 8 AM through 6 PM.
“This will be one of the first outlets in which we'll share our 20-year findings on both the costs and benefits of using cover crops to improve agroecosystem biodiversity and the efficiencies of the C, N, and water cycles in SJV annual cropping systems,” says UC ANR's Jeff Mitchell, whose presentation on conservation agriculture falls in the 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM “Practices to improve soil health,” slot on the day-long program.
Mitchell will describe how over the course of the project that was characterized by recurring drought, a total of 37 tons of aboveground cover crop biomass representing 1580 lbs N and 14.8 tons C per acre was produced with a total precipitation of 127 inches and 16 inches of supplemental irrigation in that was applied in four of the years. These inputs averaged 3,695 lbs of organic matter or 0.79 tons of C annually. Year-to-year variability was quite large ranging from 8,818 lbs OM in 2000 when supplemental irrigation was applied, to 54 lbs/ac in 2007 when, as in most years, no irrigation was applied to the cover crops. The cover crops were typically seeded by November 15 and terminated around March 15 of the following year accounting for a growth period of 120 days capturing solar energy by the “green ground cover”, and living roots in the soil for about 90 additional days during the year relative to the standard practice system which was bare during this time. Based on cover crop growth during years when supplemental irrigation was applied, Mitchell estimates that an average of 6,082 lbs of dry cover crop biomass might have been produced with a modest input of 2 inches of water. Even greater amounts of cover crop biomass – approximately 12,000 lbs of dry matter per acre as is typically achieved with winter silage triticale crops in SJV dairies - could be produced were cover crops “treated more like cash crops” with additional supplemental strategically timed irrigation in a cropping system as in other regions of the US. He'll also be showing participants via recorded video clips just how this sort of sustained cover crop use improves key soil health indicator properties and function.
CCA and PCA credit for the online webinar have been requested.
Photo caption
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UC ANR Cropping Systems Extension Specialist, Jeff Mitchell, shown sampling winter cover crop aboveground biomass in longstanding conservation agriculture study of the impacts of reduced disturbance, cover crops, and surface residues on soil function, productivity, and ecosystem services at the Conservation Agriculture Systems study site in Five Points, CA
New data on cover crops to be presented July 23rd!
Delayed Harvest Incentive Program for Wheat and Triticale
Winter grains like wheat and triticale are incredibly attractive to nesting ducks. Winter grains...
Delayed-wheat-harvest-application + trit
To protect California ecosystem services, they must be valued
In addition to direct economic outputs, working landscapes – farms, rangelands, forests and fisheries, to name a few – sequester carbon, capture water, support wildlife, offer picturesque views and make space for hiking, skiing, boating and other recreational activities.
“We need to put a value to ecosystem services, from an economic standpoint, that incentivizes people who own and manage these landscapes so they can continue to manage them for everyone's benefit,” said Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension rangeland advisor in Sonoma County.
When ecosystem services have been monetized, proper compensation can be calculated, ensuring benefits like clean water, fresh air and a livable climate are protected for future generations.
In November, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources released a report at the California Economic Summit in Fresno on the value of California's working landscapes. The report determined the state's working landscapes generate $333 billion in annual sales and 1.5 million jobs. That number does not include ecosystem services.
“The value of ecosystem services is probably higher than the $333 billion direct economic contribution of working landscapes outlined in the report,” said Glenda Humiston, University of California vice president for agriculture and natural resources. Humiston is chair of the economic summit's working landscape task force. “The problem is, when we don't have that quantified, it's hard to make investments to make sure those ecosystem services are maintained.”
Humiston said that, in time, systems can be developed for the public to support the ecosystem services they enjoy.
“You might have a small surcharge on binoculars,” she said. “That money could be used to protect bird habitat so birders can go somewhere to see birds. Water districts might assess a surcharge on your water bill to pay for the forested watersheds where they are getting your water. There are many different mechanisms to do this. We're trying to figure out what would be the best mechanism.”
During the summit, a team of researchers, policymakers and industry professionals launched a new phase of work to calculate with scientific accuracy the value of ecosystem services. Larson is a member of the leadership team, along with executive director of the Central Valley Partnership Dan O'Connell and Sequoia Riverlands Trust director of pubic planning and policy Adam Livingston.
The team is working with partners to secure funding and technical support to integrate data sets already available from the Council of Governments' Rural-Urban Connections Strategy into an open source, statewide system for mapping ecosystem services.
Once the tool is established, the team will be ready to pilot test it in four areas of California that provide ecosystem services.
“I love this concept,” said Kenny Spain, economic development specialist with the Headwaters Fund in Humboldt County and a member of the task force. “It's a valuable tool.”
Learn more:
View a 4-minute video of UC ANR vice president Glenda Humiston announcing the release of the report, California's Working Landscape: A Key Contributor to the State's Economic Vitality, at the 2019 California Economic Summit.
View California Governor Gavin Newsom's keynote address at the 2019 California Economic Summit:
More than Cows or Sheep: Ecosystem Services from Ranchlands
Most ranchers track production – pounds of calves or lambs sold, seasonal gain on stocker...