The main objective of the Action is the improved understanding of the management of greenhouse gas emissions from European soils under different forms of land use and in particular disturbance regimes.
Secondary objectives
1. The identification of hot spots of greenhouse gas emissions from soils.
2. The identification of soil and site conditions that are vulnerable to GHG emissions.
3. The development of an advanced reporting concept across different forms of land use and land use changes.
4. The delivery and communication policy relevant GHG reporting concepts.
5. The improvement of the communication between soil C experts.
The Action aims to identify gaps in previous projects such as the response of carbon and nitrogen pools in soils under typical regimes of ecosystem disturbances and land-use change. To achieve the objectives, the Action will establish a communication platform between experts in different forms of land use, modellers and statisticians, and the contributors to the existing framework of greenhouse gas reporting.
The immediate benefit of the Action is that shortcomings of existing GHG reporting (IPCC Good Practice Guidance) that are caused by the insufficient availability of data or difficulties in upscaling, can be identified and improvements can be elaborated. It is expected that the accounting system of GHG emissions that applies for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will be changed and, post-2012, a more coherent system will be used. The Action will deliver recommendations for a new data acquisition system.
Another benefit will be the establishment of a discussion platform for soil experts who are involved in biogeochemical studies of C and N. A long-term benefit of the Action will be an improved understanding of the effect of land-use change and ecosystem disturbance on GHG emissions from soils and therefore better guidance as to where monitoring efforts should be concentrated. Publication of the results will ensure that the work will be of a high scientific standard and establish a link between the network and a wider audience. Ideally, the network will contribute to the development of an EU-funded project of the Seventh Framework Programme.
