Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Mitigation

Agricultural production results in three greenhouse gas emissions of consequence. Nitrous oxide emissions come mainly from nitrogen applied to agricultural soils. Methane emissions come mostly from the digestive processes of ruminant animals, manure management and rice cultivation. Net carbon dioxide fluxes come mainly from fossil fuel use, production of fertilizers and other agro-chemicals, and soil management. Depending on whether only direct emissions are included, or whether indirect emissions from land use change and other sources are also counted, agriculture is credited for between 6 and 35% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Improved management and technology can help dramatically reduce GHG emissions from agriculture.

Featured Publications

Precision Nitrogen Application: Eric Odberg Case Study (PDF)

Yorgey, G., S. Kantor, K. Painter, H. Davis, and L. Bernacchi. 2014. Video and text farmer case study. Eric Odberg is a fourth generation farmer who practices no-till management and was an early adopter of variable rate nitrogen (VRN) application in the dryland production region of the Pacific Northwest.

Anaerobic Digestion Webpage

CSANR webpage.  Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a process in which organic matter is converted into methane by bacteria in the absence of oxygen. Under typical dairy farm conditions manure is stored in open ponds and applied to fields, where decomposition often occurs under anaerobic conditions. This leads to the natural, open-air production of methane, a […]

BioEarth: A regional-scale earth system model to inform land and water management decisions

Adam, J.C., Rajagopalan, K., Stockle, C.O., Kruger, C.E., Brady, M.P., Barber, M.E., Chinnayakanahalli, K.J., Yorgey, G.G., Nelson, R.L., Dinesh, S., Malek, K., Yoder, J., Chung, S., Vaughan, J.K., Leung, F., Lamb, B.K., Evans, R.D., Harrison, J., Stephens, J., Guenther, A., Kalyanaraman, A., Leung, L.R., Liu, M., Tague, C., Perleberg, A.B., Chen, Y., Norton, T.M., Jiang, […]

Additional Publications

Global Climate Change

Weddell, B., L. Carpenter-Boggs, and S. Higgins. June 2012. FS069E. Washington State University researchers have taken a departure from the regionally focused, applied-science extension publication to write a fact sheet on the science, debate and challenges of global climate change.

Climate Change: what does the science really tell us?

A narrated Extension PowerPoint on climate science and climate change. The presentation was prepared by Craig Cogger at WSU Puyallup and covers the basics of climate science, evidence of climate change, projections of future climate change, and mitigation strategies. The presentation consists of 10 parts, each about five minutes long, so that it can be […]

Above & Beyond

Sudermann, 2011.  Article highlighting CSANR climate change research in Washington State Magazine.

Browse all Greenhouse Gas Emissions Publications

External Links

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