1. Conservation Agriculture Network
Craig Drury, Mark Liebig, Denis Angers, Roberta Farina,
Rosa Franaviglia, Hero Gollany, Henry Janzen,
Thomas Katterer, Charles Rice, and Upenda Sainju
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, Ontario

2. Conservation Agriculture
Background:
Conservation Agriculture was originally developed to combat wind and soil erosion (Bavere et al. 2011)
Conservation Agriculture components:
1. Reduced tillage systems
2. Permanent soil cover or effective use of crop rotations including cover crops and intercrops.
3. Reducing the fallow period.

3. Conservation Agriculture & GHG Mitigation
Strategies:
1. Enhancing soil C sequestration (aligns with the 4 per mil strategy, see Jean-Francois Soussana presentation 197-2)
2. Improving soil quality
3. Increasing Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE)
4. Increasing Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

4. Conservation Agriculture & GHG Mitigation
Factors Controlling Responses:
1. Maximizing time period where growing crops are taking up N (N synchronization)
2. Minimizing tillage reduces decomposition rate of crop residues & SOM
3. Increasing Net Primary Productivity with soil and climate appropriate conservation tillage practices.

5. How can research help in refining mitigation estimates?
1. Quantifying impacts of crop rotations, cover crops and intercrops on GHG fluxes and SOC.
2. Assessing GHG outcomes following multi-intervention
management practices.
3. Identifying alternative conservation
tillage practices when problems
arise with no-tillage.

6. Synthesis/Recommendations
1. Conservation agriculture has many attributes that can use applied N more efficiently and reduce the risk of high N2O emissions.
Carbon sequestration can be increased
by extending the time crops are growing
on the land by using perennial crops,
intercrops and cover crops.
3. There are research opportunities to overcome some of the challenges with conservation agriculture.

7. Thankyou!