A study published this month and highlighted in Nature Geoscience found that in the majority of cases, conversion of land from natural ecosystems to agriculture results in a reduction in Net Primary Productivity (NPP), a measure of the amount of vegetative growth and the ecosystem's ability to store carbon.
Researchers at the University of Montana used satellites to help estimate the NPP of natural systems and compared that with estimates of agricultural NPP. They found that productivity is reduced in 88% of farmed land globally, by about 7%. The biggest reductions happen where tropical rainforest or savanas are cleared for farmland. The exception is a small amount of intensively managed, irrigated, or fertilized land that has higher productivity.
This research is important because demand for agricultural production is expected to double by 2050, with huge implications for climate and carbon storage. The investigators hope their research can be used to identify and avoid practices that result in the most damage to plant ecosystems and their ability to store carbon.
University of Montana Site: http://news.umt.edu/2014/02/pressrelease-basepage3.aspx
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