carbon sequestration

& avoidance potential

 

The carbon sequestration potential for multi-strata agroforestry is high. Research from Project Drawdown and Carbon Harvest show that one hectare of multi-strata agroforestry can sequester between 4 and 4.5 tons of carbon per year. At this rate and with our current average carbon emissions, it would require a land area the size of one fifth of Watauga County to be used for multi-strata agroforestry in order to sequester all of Appalachian State’s yearly emissions, with 153 square kilometers sequestering 68,800 mT/yr. If Appalachian State is to take the obvious path in eliminating a bulk of carbon emissions through Scope 2 purchased electricity, that land area is decreased to one eighth, or 102 square kilometers to sequester 45,521 mT CO2. For reference, Watauga County is currently 70-80% forested (Southern Appalachian Vitality Index 2011), so out of the other 20-30% that is built, barren, or in agricultural use, 12% would need to be converted to multi strata agroforestry (or potentially silvopasture or riparian forest buffer, though those exact sequestration rates are not discussed here).The data for carbon sequestration is drawn both from the carbon sequestered in vegetation growth as well as in the soil through soil management practices. 

 

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financial feasibility

 

Multistrata agroforestry is considered a low cost carbon sequestration practice. Drawdown estimates that the initial costs involved in this practice is $1,335.70 per hectare. This is a rough estimate because with agricultural solutions, the condition of the land initially has a considerable impact on the projected costs. Additionally, Drawdown estimates that the net profit per year per hectare is $1,799 after establishment. 

 

Considering these financial statistics and the land statistics mentioned above, we can estimate that at current average yearly emissions, Appalachian State would have to invest approximately $20.5 million per year ($1,335.70 x 15,280 hectares = $20,409,496). And if Appalachian were to, again, make the obvious choice to purchase 100% renewable energy, this cost is decreased to $13.7 million ($1,335.70 x 10,229 hectares = $13,662,875.3). This initial investment would establish the agroforestry system and ensure sequestration with initial growth. In order to maintain yearly carbon sequestration, the forest system would require maintenance. Additionally, the potential return on investment must be noted. Appalachian could return that investment, in the form of food and forest products back into the community to supply local food security systems or could channel it into Appalachian State’s food services and prevent costs and further externalized carbon emissions there.

 

Furthermore, it is important to contextualize the cost of carbon offsets within the university’s operating costs. At the most, it would cost $20.5 million to establish a multi-strata agroforestry system, and $13.6 million if Appalachian transitions to purchasing 100% renewable electricity. In comparison, from 2015-2016, Appalachian spent $31.5 million on athletics expenses, $11.2 million of which came from student fees (Winston-Salem Journal). Considering this, and the moral and survival imperative of addressing the climate crisis, multi-strata agroforestry seems to be a viable option for carbon sequestration that is cost effective and also has potential to be a source of food for the university and/or the community. 

 

One other piece to highlight here is that, though the stated expenses are estimated for establishment only, to continue to sequester carbon at a significant rate, multi-strata agroforestry requires maintenance (IPCC 2018, National Academies). Estimates for this yearly cost would be challenging to identify and could potentially decrease after full establishment. 

 

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feasibility of implementation

 

There is already a precedent for forest reserve and carbon farming in US universities. We do not have to look far for an example; Duke University in Chapel Hill has a 10,000 acres wetland restoration and research project for the purpose of offsetting carbon emissions which has allowed them to meet an earlier carbon neutrality goal and build research capacity in this cutting-edge field. In the realm of public universities, the University of California Reserve System is a system of interconnecting wildlife reserves representing all the ecosystems that are present in California and are protected by the University of California (University of California Natural Reserve System). While the Reserve System is not currently used for carbon offsetting or active maintenance of forests for that purpose, it does set a precedent for the use and research of large natural land holdings.

 

Even with these precedents, there is a challenge to implementation presented by the nature of the University of North Carolina System, but it is not without creative solutions. Currently, the Board of Governors does not permit the use of public funds for carbon offsets. At Appalachian State, all carbon offsetting is voluntary with the purchase of a campus parking pass. Until the Board of Governors recognizes the scientific imperative of rapid climate action and commits to and permits universities to utilize funding to this end, use of public funds for the explicit use of offsetting carbon is highly unlikely. However, Appalachian State already has 67 acres of protected woodlands as a Nature Reserve, held and utilized by the Department of Biology (Appalachian State University Department of Biology), and has partnered with the Blue Ridge Conservancy to protect 369 acres of land as the Blackburn Vannoy Farm (Appalachian State University Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment). Both of these landholdings have the explicit intention to enable conservation, restoration, research, and sustainable management (ibid.). 

 

Appalachian could, then, have the ability to adopt carbon farming agroforestry for research and conservation purposes. As noted earlier, there is limited research on the carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems and best practices for management and establishment, especially due to the diversity of systems and challenge of measurement. With the pressing urgency of climate mitigation, this research is in high demand and has strong potential to aid in addressing the climate crisis globally. Appalachian State has the opportunity to contribute to a global climate solution, to live up to their image of leaders in sustainability, and to equip the next generations of students with truly essential skills and knowledge to face one of the greatest challenges of our time. 

 

Multi-strata agroforestry carbon farming is already being utilized globally as a just climate solution, and there are many different examples to draw from to tailor the project to Appalachian State. The Carbon Harvest White Paper highlights a few successful initiatives that include different forms of investment and management that ASU may choose to utilize in establishing an agroforestry carbon farm. Some lessons in particular that we recommend in order to more fully explore the just potentials of agroforestry carbon farming include partnering with local land holders to provide funds to reforest and maintain agroforestry systems, funding local farmers to switch to regenerative forest practices, funding and encouraging the establishment of a community cooperative to manage and maintain the agroforest in order to democratize decision making, providing skills trainings and hiring staff to maintain forests and support the a just and sustainable economy, partnering with local food security and food sovereignty initiatives or local food markets to bring the harvest to community members, and/or potentially directing harvest into Appalachian Food Services in order to further offset food carbon emissions that are yet to be accounted for. While this report does not explore the full details of these initiatives in depth, we recommend employing a team of community representatives and agroforestry carbon farming experts to develop a justice-oriented plan for the community. 

 

Important to consider is that, in order to keep up sequestration rates over time, multi-strata agroforestry carbon farming systems must be maintained. This is because unmanaged forests decline in sequestration abilities over time, keeping a constant rate of sequestration rather than increasing sequestration potential, whereas managed forests can maintain increasing sequestration potential, though at a lesser rate over time (IPCC 2018, National Academies). As mentioned, this could be an opportunity to enhance the justice potential by engaging with the community through training and hiring community members and encouraging cooperative and collectivized management and benefits.

 

Also important to consider in the just management of the agroforestry system is to decolonize the approach to forest management, since forests and landscapes have been profoundly damaged due to colonialism and related extractivism. The US Forest Service highlights the importance and wisdom of learning from indigenous land management practices and traditional indigenous multistrata agroforestry systems as models for sustainability (2017). They highlight that the presence of these agroforestry systems in much of the world over centuries indicate the resiliency and adaptive capacity of these systems which is key to confronting the challenges that the climate crisis presents. While indigenous knowledges that have maintained these systems for centuries are highly important to learn from, extraction and use of this knowledge without explicit compensation is still extractive, a quality of the systems and perspectives at the root of the climate crisis. One potential here could be partnering with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the indigenous nation native to this area, and collaborating to establish some form of an Indigenous Land Trust or form of Native Land Conservancy in order to support the return of land rights to the rightful owners and respect their sovereignty. 

 

potential justice impacts

on community members

Agroforestry carbon farming can further support a just transition beyond the obvious ecosystem support and climate mitigation through the redirection of food resources, improving access to land, and providing skills training and monetary support for transitioning local land management practices. The Forest Service cites that agroforestry is being used and can be used to increase food security for food insecure populations and that agroforestry has been a resilient food source for traditional communities for centuries (2017). Data from 2013 shows that Watauga County is 16% food insecure (UNC Hunger Research). Appalachian State has a precedent of redistributing food harvested from the campus gardens to the Free Store in the Office of Sustainability and local food security initiatives like Hospitality House and FARM Full Circle. Better yet, the products of the agroforestry carbon farm could help provide a basis for a non-monetary exchange and redistribution network, along the lines of barter or mutual aid, to specifically support low-income and food insecure populations and increase community interdependence and resilience. 

 

Appalachian could use the agroforestry carbon farm to improve land access in the community in order to boost community wealth and stewardship. A cooperative management model could allow for all cooperative members to share in responsibility, benefit, and care of the forest system. Furthermore, by using the carbon farm as a model and facilitating skills trainings for community members, regenerative practices that help sequester carbon could be spread more broadly. However, one potential challenge cited in the Carbon Harvest White Paper is that farmers sometimes struggle to transition to regenerative agriculture because of the funds required to support such a change. Part of this challenge includes the complexity of multistrata agroforestry systems, which prevent the use of some labor-saving mechanized approaches (2020). This encourages the transition to a more cooperative and collectivized management in order to meet the needs of a complex system. Thus, Appalachian’s support to a community-wide transition to regenerative forest agriculture for carbon farming purposes could be that the Appalachian agroforestry carbon farm acts as an anchor for the community cooperative, as well as a source of microloans and funding, seeds and saplings, and other tools for starting new agroforests.

 

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potential impact on biodiversity

 

Agroforestry has a highly positive impact on biodiversity, which is incredibly important in Appalachia because this region is a top biodiversity hotspot and the largest contiguous hot spot area in the nation (CHWP 2020). Agroforestry can positively impact biodiversity by increasing wildlife and insect habitat, especially where it replaces pasture or afforested land and uses primarily native species. While agroforestry systems do take time to establish, they provide multiple ecosystem services and functions (IPCC 2018). These include air purification, soil rehabilitation, preventing erosion, and establishing habitat, food, and forage. The Carbon Harvest White Paper highlights that specifically for the mountainous farmlands of Western North Carolina, carbon farming can be transformative in terms of ecosystem benefits and economic benefits (2020). One possible style of agroforestry that increases biodiversity is the riparian forest buffer, which helps to protect and rehabilitate stream and river biodiversity by providing filtration of sediment and contaminants, stabilizing against disruptions from floods and storms, and providing shade for aquatic ecosystems (CHWP 2020).

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potential resilience impacts

 

Agroforestry carbon farming helps to improve community resilience to the threats presented by climate change in Western North Carolina. The National Climate Assessment from 2018 highlights that the Southeast will experience increased flood risk due to increased precipitation, decreased air quality, increased heat and heat related illness, and food crop challenges. Agroforestry carbon farming can help mitigate the dangers of flooding by improving soil stabilization through strong root systems, increasing water percolation potential due to healthy soil organic carbon and root systems, and stabilizing riparian environments with buffers (CHWP, FS). Increased tree coverage in afforested areas help to both reduce air pollution and to locally cool the environment (Lwasa et. al. 2015). Regarding food, the NCA discusses that food and grain crops will face challenges and have overall reduced productivity, but the Forest Service outlines how agroforestry can provide food production that is resilient to risks, shocks, and the long-term effects of climate change and variability due to its ecosystem complexity and high adaptability. 

 

Furthermore, agroforestry carbon farming can improve the social resilience of a community by contributing to cooperative and collective responsibilities and stewardship of agro-forested areas, by improving food security and food sovereignty, and by providing opportunities for skills training in regenerative practices.