CANN2ONET - A Canadian Nitrous Oxide Collaboration Network to Meet Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets

Summary

Nitrogen fertilizer application to soil results in emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), representing ~30% of national agricultural GHG emissions. Lowering GHG emissions through improved N fertilizer use is of great importance to reduce the overall supply-chain carbon footprint of companies procuring Canadian grains and oilseeds, and for meeting the fertilizer-related emission reduction target set by the Canadian government. However, progress is hampered by needs of:

1. quantifying actual N₂O emission reductions for practices believed to reduce emissions,
2. understanding of behavioral factors impeding or driving adoption of mitigation practices,
3. suitable metrics for tracking progress towards reduction targets,
4. region-specific recommendations of management practices based on emission reduction potential, that consider farm profitability and farmer behavior.

Here we propose CANN2ONET, a collaboration network between leading N₂O experts from 7 universities and 2 colleges across Canada with 12 partners spanning industry, government, and producer organizations with the objectives of addressing these needs. We propose to:

1. establish a network of benchmark studies across Canada for whole-year measurements of N₂O emissions and soil processes in fields with improved N management in coordination with behavioral and experimental economics studies of decision-making processes,
2. develop and validate metrics to track progress towards emission reduction targets based on novel regional tower measurements, database development and improved N₂O prediction models,
3. develop a roadmap for emission reduction based on regional scaling-up of beneficial management practices, including economic trade-offs and evidence from behavioral experiments with farmers.

The outcomes of CANN2ONET will be:

1. a better understanding of N₂O emission reduction due to improved practices for major grain and oilseeds regions in Canada,
2. N₂O metrics that are representative of farm-level activities,
3. strategies to guide partners decisions towards net-zero goals,
4. trainees who understand farm-level realities and are connected to the agri-food network.