| Key Achievements |
2014/15 (planned) |
2014/15 (actual) |
| Model and upscale greenhouse gas emissions – Outcome 3 |
$0.33 |
$0.33 |
- Progressed the development of a CenW/DNDC hybrid model that combines the CenW plant processes and carbon cycling components with the detailed modelling of nitrous oxide fluxes in DNDC. This will eventually expand the capability of CenW to simulate nitrous oxide, nitrogen gas, and ammonia emissions and then add a more process-based estimate of nitrate leaching.
- Used our alternative accounting methodology to assess temporal aspects of the net emissions of carbon dioxide, leading to an international multi-authored comparisons of methods.
- Applied our simplified meta-models of nitrous oxide emission factors developed from NZ-DNDC at national scale to calculate direct nitrous oxide emissions from grazed pastures. This will inform future predictions.
|
| Carbon storage in soil and biomass – Outcome 3 |
$0.27 |
$0.29 |
- Developed a new method for assessing soil carbon stock changes in pastoral land, using environmental datalayers to stratify the landscape and provide a framework for ongoing monitoring. Vis-NIR spectroscopy methods are being developed for time- and cost-effective soil carbon analysis. A system to automatically scan soil cores and predict volumetric soil carbon content is also being developed.
- Developed a new approach to measure net carbon exchange by forest canopies growing in complex terrain. It uses automated measurements of sap flow and the use of carbon isotopes in air respired to overcome the needs for access into canopies and complex instrumentation
|
| Agricultural greenhouse gas and mitigation – Outcome 3 |
$0.71 |
$0.69 |
- Shared New Zealand technology and methodological approaches and developments for use in national greenhouse gas inventories (as recommended by the IPCC) with Latin American conference participants, demonstrating our leadership.
- Researched microbial community richness and composition (denitrifier genes) at both functional and phylogenetic composition based on 16S rRNA profiling, supporting the notion that the use of nitrification inhibitor DCD for nitrogen management is a viable, ecologically safe option.
- Developed a new inventory methodology for hill country grazed by sheep, beef and deer resulting in hill-country-specific emission factors that reduces nitrous oxide emissions in hilly land by 52%, and also improves greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
- Demonstrated that farm soils and biochar can be used as a biofilter material to remove methane from animal wastes. Spiking farm soils and biochar with methanotroph-enriched medium and nutrient additions can enhance the growth and stabilisation of methanotrophs for methane removal.
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