Crop pathway
How does Cool Farm Tool determine above-ground biomass for trees?
The CFT uses different allometric equations that determine biomass based on a few parameters, which are easy to measure (e.g. diameter at breast height). The selection is based on the various allometric equations included from IPCC and other peer ...
Does the C-Input component of the carbon tab address only carbon sequestration? How are the effects of N2O emissions accounted for?
Currently, the tool only accounts for the effect on soil carbon. N2O emissions from cover crop residue decomposition, which can lead to higher nitrous oxide emissions, are not considered at the moment. However, you can include this by increasing the ...
What management practices can help me to sequester carbon in the soil? E.g. is reduced tillage more beneficial than conventional tillage apart from less fuel use?
The soil carbon calculation is a factor of the change in soil carbon per year versus the soil reference carbon stock, and depends on the type of soil and climatic region for the location of the farm where the assessment is being completed. The ...
Why can I not select my crop in my GHG and Water assessment?
The water module is only available for a range of crops in the tool: Alfalfa, Barley, Coffee, Cotton, Dry Bean, Maize, Millet, Oats, Other grain, Other legume, Other N-fixing forage, Other Non-N-fixing forage, Peanut, Perennial grass, Potato, Rice, ...
Why does the tool not show results for waste water after I filled this section under Fuel & Energy?
The waste water treatment options as well as related emission factors have been updated to IPCC 2019. The methodology is intended to only show changes in the emissions of waste water if the temperature of the farm is equal or higher than 15° ...
What tree species should I select in the out-of-crop biomass section if I don't see my shade tree species?
Choose the type of tree that resembles your shade trees most. E.g. hardwoods, called angiosperms, are usually flowering or fruit bearing trees. Therefore, tropical moist hardwood would be a good choice for e.g. mango or citrus trees. For soft wood ...
The tree species in the dropdown for biomass are not applicable to Europe, what should I select?
Unfortunately, we do not have any European hardwood included yet. This is a drawback communicated by different users and is currently being developed as part of the new perennial crop module. The closest selection would be ‘temperate US eastern ...
How do I reflect carbon sequestration in a farming system that uses different tillage for different crops within a rotation?
The IPCC provides definitions for various tillage categories, including "no-till," "reduced," and "full" tillage. When entering tillage changes in the carbon tab of the CFT, consider these terms as applying to the entire rotation on your field, ...
Why is carbon sequestration potential bigger for soils with a high Soil Organic Matter than for soils with a low SOM?
The Cool Farm Tool uses IPCC Tier 1 method as the basis of its soil carbon module. This method observes that soil carbon stock under annual production is a fixed fraction of the native (pre-agriculture) carbon stock. It also says that changing ...
How does the Cool Farm Tool estimate soil carbon change due to management interventions? What parameters are taken into account?
The Cool Farm Tool calculates changes in soil carbon, whether it involves emissions or sequestration, by considering historical changes in land use change, tillage and carbon input. The method employed is based on the IPCC 2019 guidelines. It's ...
Does the tool account for emissions from natural mineralisation of soil organic matter?
Yes, the tool accounts for the annual nitrogen released through the natural breakdown of soil organic matter, but only if there is a loss of soil carbon due to changes in land use or management. This includes nitrogen lost through leaching and direct ...
Can I capture cover crops in CFT?
Cover crops are not a separate question anymore but are part of C input added to a soil. Have a look at the info button text in the tool, you will see a helpful soil carbon decision tree (can also see attached to this article). If you started using ...
Why do I see emissions when I change from full till to reduced till?
This is only applicable to dry soils in different climates. With the updated models of IPCC 2019, the expected change of carbon stocks due to changes in tillage practices to reduced till lead to some surprising results, depending on soil moisture ...
Can I add a new crop to the CFT?
Please note that in the annual GHG pathway, the primary impact of selecting a crop is the quantity of residues it produces. For crops not listed in the tool, you can use the "Other Crop" option and enter an estimate of residue quantity (above ground ...
The residues estimated by the CFT are very high/very low. Why is that?
The residues estimated by the Cool Farm Tool are generated based on the guidelines provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It's important to note that these values are estimates and can indeed have a significant influence on ...
Why are seed emissions not covered in CFT?
The Cool Farm Tool covers seed emissions only for potato, but not for the remaining field crops. In general, these emissions are quite low, compared to the other sources of emission. However, there has also been increasing demand for including this ...
When we choose crop trees does that include the above and below ground biomass, or should I add the number of crop trees and it's diameter again in the biomass section?
The biomass of crop trees in the annual existing CFT module is not automatically included, this needs to be added in the biomass section. You should only account for crop biomass if the biomass is permanent and additional.
Is crop residue to be entered in terms of fresh or dry matter?
Crop residues are to be entered in terms of DRY MATTER.
I don't see my crop in the drop-down list on the first tab. What should I do?
The crop affects your carbon footprint via residues, below-ground biomass, and nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen application. If you don’t see your crop listed, choose from the “other” crops at the bottom of the drop-down list. The main impact of ...
How do I account for row cover, plastic or woven?
This is not yet in scope of the Cool Farm Tool, but it is planned for inclusion in Cool Farm 3.0, to be released next year, under capital items and we will also include their disposal. A potential work around is, if you can ask your manufacturer if ...
How do I classify 'hose and pump' irrigation systems?
Remember that details on irrigation are not required. This section only needs to be filled out if you want help from the tool in calculating the amount of energy use involved in irrigation (and therefore GHG). Since the Cool Farm Tool does not have ...
How do I estimate the volume of leaf litter from coffee trees?
The best source of guidance is experts in coffee agronomy that are familiar with local growing practices or even published research from the region.