Do agri-environment schemes enhance carbon sequestration? Quantifying the effort in the Czech Republic

Abstract

In the Czech Republic, there are several agri-environment schemes focused on biodiversity and improved soil conditions with added benefits contributing to carbon sequestration introduced by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2002. In this study, our aim was to analyse historical data of implemented measures with the highest potential for carbon sequestration, assess their outputs and determine which of the agri-environment measures contributed the most during the programming periods and over the twenty years. Apart from analysing historical data (e.g. number of applications, enrolled area and received payment) and assessing their outputs based on sequestration coefficients published in the literature, we have created an algorithm that predicted carbon sequestration over a twenty-year period to assess the contribution of specific measures beyond the duration of programmes. All the sub-measures monitored contributed to carbon sequestration, with the resulting value determined by the amount of land on which the measure was implemented. The results indicate that, over the period under study, the Conversion from Arable Land to Grassland sub-measure was the highest contributor, reaching values of 555,803–606,330 t C and 1,129,317–1,538,235 t C over twenty years. However, the conversion from arable land to grassland is limited by the land suitable for conversion, so it can be assumed that the Catch Crops sub-measure will make a higher contribution in the future. For the period under study, Catch Crops contributed 359,352–598,920 t C. An increase is also expected for the Flower Strips sub-measure. The study advances knowledge on the contribution of agri-environment measures to carbon sequestration and their modelling, a topic that has not been addressed by many researchers to date and is the first of its kind in Central Europe.