Scoping study to determine feasibility of populating the land use component of the LULUCF GHG inventory. Final report

There is a need to protect and enhance the vast stocks of carbon (>10 billion tonnes) stored in UK soils, both to mitigate climate change through increased carbon sequestration in soils and to prevent potential climate change impacts resulting from soil carbon loss. To do this we need to be able to quantify, verify and report the emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHG) from soils as a result of land management practices and land use change. The main tool used to (calculate and) report the greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with changes in soil carbon is the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) component of the UK GHG Inventory. The coverage of soil carbon fluxes in the inventory, particularly with respect to land management rather than land use change, is currently limited. The aim of the project is to determine the feasibility of populating the land use component of the LULUCF GHG inventory. The research needs for this project are divided into four tasks: 1. Scoping the feasibility of populating the land use/management component of the LULUCF inventory in order to capture soil carbon fluxes associated with land management and associated greenhouse gas emissions and removals. This is the main focus of the project. 2. Exploration of the methodology for calculating emissions from the management and use of peatlands. 3. Improving the robustness and transparency of the methodology for calculating emissions from the extraction of peat for horticultural use. 4. Exploration of how to improve the methodology for the Land Use Change component of the inventory to address policy questions