New SDSU paper discusses carbon footprints

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our or .

| Sourced From |

A new South Dakota State University publication explains how carbon sequestration may help decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide.

SDSU Fact Sheet 951, “The Issues of Carbon Sequestration,” is available at http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/FS951.pdf or ask for it at your county Extension office.

The four-page fact sheet explains the carbon cycle and how concentrated greenhouse gases have increased in the earth’s atmosphere.

Since carbon is key element in the air, soil, and water, the authors of the publication consider the evidence of global warming and the reduction in glacial ice in several places around the globe.

The authors suggest that carbon “footprints” can be reduced by adopting a number of agricultural practices, including no-tillage and reduced use of nitrogen-based fertilizer in crop fields.

They also illustrate how the Biofuel Energy System Simulator model has helped scientists to understand the “cradle to grave” life cycle analysis of biofuels and their role in the process of reevaluating carbon.

The authors also discuss the politics of carbon, the implementation of a greenhouse gas reduction system, and the standards for the carbon credit. They present information on the role South Dakota no-till farmland could play in the growing climate exchange market.