Growing a better future: Scaling agroforestry as a global CDR solution

GHG-R Flagship
 

Team: David Lobell

Agroforestry as a scalable carbon removal technology - Trees added to global croplands could store ~5 billion tons of CO2 per year, add food and revenue streams, increase climate resilience and biodiversity, and improve the health of soils. Scientists can assess carbon accumulation accurately as trees absorb CO2 and incorporate it into biomass. 

However, today’s analyses of agroforestry programs do not reveal whether these programs are scalable and cost-effective, nor do they suggest how to increase the rates of successful adoption. To fill these gaps, we plan to engage with partners in India to scope the potential of agroforestry, particularly in water- and energy-limited regions. We propose to obtain data from existing agroforestry programs, combine the data with satellite images to characterize each tree in the landscape, then estimate the total carbon sequestered. We will quantify the trade-offs between land harnessed for agriculture and land harnessed for carbon sequestration. This project will provide evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of various agroforestry programs to support investment decisions and policy decisions.