Assessing the net climate benefits of improved grazing intensity in global rangelands.
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| Title: | Assessing the net climate benefits of improved grazing intensity in global rangelands. |
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| Authors: | Powell, Robert S. (AUTHOR), Davis, Steven J. (AUTHOR), Encarnation, David G. (AUTHOR), Piipponen, Johannes (AUTHOR), Chang, Jinfeng (AUTHOR), Currier, Courtney M. (AUTHOR), Erb, Karl-Heinz (AUTHOR), Eze, Samuel (AUTHOR), Hong, Chaopeng (AUTHOR), Ploton, Pierre (AUTHOR), Ren, Shuai (AUTHOR), Smith, Pete (AUTHOR), Su, Jishuai (AUTHOR), Tempio, Giuseppe (AUTHOR), Terrer, Cesar (AUTHOR), Wisser, Dominik (AUTHOR), Xu, Fengwei (AUTHOR), Pellegrini, Adam F. A. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Science. 6/11/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6803, p1161-1166. 6p. |
| Subjects: | Grazing, Rangelands, Greenhouse gases, Carbon sequestration, Climate change mitigation, Plant productivity, Feed additives |
| Abstract: | Improved rangeland grazing could mitigate climate change through carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in soils and vegetation. However, altering grazing practices to increase ecosystem carbon storage may also decrease livestock production and/or increase greenhouse gas emissions through the supply chain, such that the net emissions impacts remain unclear. Here, we assess the global net mitigation potential of improving grazing intensity by quantifying potential CO2 sequestration alongside systems-level impacts of plant productivity changes, livestock emissions, feed requirements, and production constraints. Improving grazing intensity in global rangelands could sequester 2.2 ± 0.43 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt/CO2eq) per year in the near term, but maintaining livestock production through supplemental feeding would reduce net mitigation by 2 to 31% (to 1.8 ± 0.45 GT/CO2eq per year). Our results suggest that neglecting systems-level emissions impacts may substantially overestimate the global climate benefits of improved grazing. Editor's summary: Grazing animals provide food and livelihoods for people all over the world, but overgrazing can degrade ecosystems, reducing plant biomass and carbon stored in soils. Powell et al. analyzed published experimental data to assess the potential for mitigating carbon emissions by adopting low to medium grazing intensity on rangelands globally. They investigated the nonlinear effects of grazing on plant productivity, geographic constraints on livestock production, and emissions embedded in producing feed to supplement grazing, finding limited emissions reductions, particularly when accounting for the need for supplemental feed. This study highlights the importance of considering emissions from the entire system to assess climate mitigation potential. —Bianca Lopez [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Improved rangeland grazing could mitigate climate change through carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in soils and vegetation. However, altering grazing practices to increase ecosystem carbon storage may also decrease livestock production and/or increase greenhouse gas emissions through the supply chain, such that the net emissions impacts remain unclear. Here, we assess the global net mitigation potential of improving grazing intensity by quantifying potential CO2 sequestration alongside systems-level impacts of plant productivity changes, livestock emissions, feed requirements, and production constraints. Improving grazing intensity in global rangelands could sequester 2.2 ± 0.43 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt/CO2eq) per year in the near term, but maintaining livestock production through supplemental feeding would reduce net mitigation by 2 to 31% (to 1.8 ± 0.45 GT/CO2eq per year). Our results suggest that neglecting systems-level emissions impacts may substantially overestimate the global climate benefits of improved grazing. Editor's summary: Grazing animals provide food and livelihoods for people all over the world, but overgrazing can degrade ecosystems, reducing plant biomass and carbon stored in soils. Powell et al. analyzed published experimental data to assess the potential for mitigating carbon emissions by adopting low to medium grazing intensity on rangelands globally. They investigated the nonlinear effects of grazing on plant productivity, geographic constraints on livestock production, and emissions embedded in producing feed to supplement grazing, finding limited emissions reductions, particularly when accounting for the need for supplemental feed. This study highlights the importance of considering emissions from the entire system to assess climate mitigation potential. —Bianca Lopez [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.adz4320 |
