Engineering of the Carbon Sequestration Function of Ecosystems in

Climate Projects

J. V. Idrisova

, S. Kh. Alikhadzhiev

and Z. A. Magazieva

Kadyrov Chechen State University, 32 Sheripova Street, Grozny, Russia

Grozny State Oil Technical University named after M.D. Millionshchikov, Grozny, Russia

Keywords: Western Siberia, climate problems, agro-industrial complex, carbon-depositing functions of ecosystems.

Abstract: This article is devoted to the engineering of the carbon-depositing function of ecosystems in climate projects.

The projects implemented in Western Siberia of Russia are considered. If earlier agriculture was perceived,

on the one hand, as one of the causes of climate change, and on the other hand, as one of its main victims, and

the question was raised only about reducing the impact of climate change on agricultural production and its

adaptation to a changing climate, today we are talking about that agriculture can become a source of

technologies that ensure the removal (sequestration) of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Farming

methods aimed at capturing carbon from the atmosphere are known as carbon (or carbon) farming. The

essence of carbon farming is to increase soil carbon by increasing the amount of carbon put into the soil and

reducing the rate of carbon loss through respiration and soil erosion. The reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions associated with agriculture is achieved, among other things, by minimizing the use of

agrochemicals (fertilizers, plant protection products).

1 INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, the main driving force behind the

global climate agenda is the European Union. In

recent decades, the fight against climate change has

become one of the main leitmotifs of his domestic and

foreign policy. These ideas are reflected in the

priorities of the work of the new European

Commission for 2019-2024. The fundamental

document for the implementation of European

initiatives in this area is the European Green Deal

strategy, presented by the European Commission in

December 2019. The stated goal of the Green Deal is

to achieve carbon neutrality of the EU by 2050.

Referring to the risks of not achieving the goal of

the Paris Agreement due to the unambitiousness of

the obligations assumed by its participants, the EU

proceeds from the need to introduce border carbon

barriers, which involve the collection of additional

fees on imported goods produced in countries with an

unacceptably low level of climate regulation.

The European Parliament's Committee on

International Trade calls for the Paris Agreement and

its target of keeping the Earth's temperature rise to

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-9593

within 1.5 degrees Celsius as "one of the main

guiding principles" of EU trade policy, with which

"all initiatives must be synchronized in the field of

trade and tools for their implementation (Sohngen,

2005). A key initiative is the project to introduce a

"border carbon correction mechanism", the essence of

which is to levy a fee on products with a high carbon

footprint imported into the EU. In fact, we are talking

about the unilateral coercion by the European Union

of its trading partners to implement climate measures

similar in scale to those carried out by the EU itself.

The new US President also makes statements about

the high priority of the climate agenda. The process

of bringing climate problems to the forefront of the

international agenda is becoming irreversible. It is

very likely that the threat of losing European market

share will induce many EU trading partners to take

radical measures to combat climate change, and

hence, in the future, to erect similar trade barriers to

protect their own producers from foreign products,

the price of which does not include the cost of

combating climate change. climate change.

If the specific form of implementation of the EU

border mechanism, in the presence of, for example,

Idrisova, J., Alikhadzhiev, S. and Magazieva, Z.

Engineering of the Carbon Sequestration Function of Ecosystems in Climate Projects.

DOI: 10.5220/0011554500003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

52-56

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

discriminatory elements, can be challenged in

international courts, the prospects for recognizing the

very idea of \u200b\u200bsuch a mechanism as

illegitimate do not seem serious. The introduction of

frontier carbon charges is just one manifestation of

the green development of the global economy. In

addition to strengthening national emission reduction

policies (to date, 127 countries have announced plans

to achieve carbon neutrality, including China and the

United States), a growing number of large investment

funds, pension funds, insurance companies and other

institutional investors are indicating plans to divest

assets from coal, oil and even gas projects (Kurbanov,

2008). In the corporate sector, sectoral emission

control and regulation systems are being introduced

(including the Corsia system in international civil

aviation); Globally, there is a rapidly growing number

of companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint

along the entire value chain in response to growing

climate reporting requirements from investors.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Carbon farming in agribusiness and forestry can also

be a tool to overcome trade barriers for carbon-

intensive exports, including agro-exports.

The EU's plans to introduce a frontier carbon

adjustment mechanism have prompted many

producers of carbon-intensive products exported to

the EU to rethink their carbon strategy. Over the past

few months, it has become clear that the emergence

of such a mechanism in one form or another is

inevitable. Moreover, similar measures can be taken

in the United States: the program of the new president

directly provides for the introduction of a "corrective

carbon levy" in relation to countries "not fulfilling

their obligations on climate and environmental

protection." If this scenario materializes, there is a

high probability of a domino effect triggering:

exporters to these markets will be forced to switch to

higher carbon standards of importing countries, and

therefore protect their producers with similar

measures. Russia's failure to take steps to develop and

implement a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions will mean a gradual narrowing of export

markets. It may turn out that there will simply be

nowhere to switch from the EU market: similar

barriers will be erected in other markets (Sidarenko,

2006). Challenging the “carbon adjustments” in the

World Trade Organization is unlikely to lead to the

desired results: if the specific forms of

implementation of the mechanism can be recognized

as inconsistent with certain WTO rules (for example,

on the prohibition of discrimination), the very idea of

such a mechanism is subject to its support economic

centers of the world, including the EU and the USA,

and the emergence of climate change issues at the

forefront of the international agenda - with a high

probability will be recognized as legitimate.

In addition, the WTO dispute resolution system

remains blocked today (the US is preventing the

appointment of members of the Appellate Body,

citing irregularities in its work; the new

administration has not yet demonstrated a willingness

to change the situation in the foreseeable future), so

filing a complaint in the near future is futile. Thus,

having won a dispute with the EU on energy

adjustments last year, Russia cannot enforce the

decision of the arbitration panel, since the EU filed an

appeal with the non-functioning Appellate Body,

thereby maintaining the status quo indefinitely.

Initiatives to price carbon – whether in the form of a

carbon tax or an emissions trading system – are on the

rise around the world, numbering around 60 to date.

before.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Africa's first carbon tax was introduced in the

Republic of South Africa (SAR), with Singapore

pioneering in Asia. On February 1, 2021, the national

emissions trading system began to operate in China.

In these circumstances, one of the key elements of

Russia's response to climate threats and related trade

barriers could be agriculture and forestry. It is very

likely that in the future, agricultural products will

somehow fall under the EU's corrective mechanism.

Given that the agricultural sector is the subject of

special protection in the EU, there is no reason to

believe that, by protecting competition in its market

with a carbon corrective mechanism, the European

Commission will refuse to use this tool to protect the

European agricultural producer (Gitarsky, 2006).

Moreover, at the international level, an understanding

is beginning to form that, in the issue of climate

change, agricultural production “is not only the

source of the problem, but also a key element of the

solution.” If earlier agriculture was perceived, on the

one hand, as one of the causes of climate change, and

on the other hand, as one of its main victims, and the

question was raised only about reducing the impact of

climate change on agricultural production and its

adaptation to a changing climate, today we are talking

about that agriculture can become a source of

technologies that ensure the removal (sequestration)

of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Engineering of the Carbon Sequestration Function of Ecosystems in Climate Projects

Farming methods aimed at capturing carbon from

the atmosphere are known as carbon (or carbon)

farming. The essence of carbon farming is to increase

soil carbon by increasing the amount of carbon put

into the soil and reducing the rate of carbon loss

through respiration and soil erosion. The reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture

is achieved, among other things, by minimizing the

use of agrochemicals (fertilizers, plant protection

products). In many ways, synonymous with carbon

farming is the concept of "regenerative" (that is,

restorative) agriculture, which refers to a set of non-

destructive agricultural practices that ensure soil

restoration in the process of managing (Ivonin, 2009).

With the help of modern breeding methods, it is

possible to obtain regenerative varieties with the

appropriate characteristics and technical

characteristics. As part of the new climate agenda, it

is necessary to develop varieties and types of

agricultural plants, including fundamentally new

ones, that would have the ability to suppress weeds,

resist pests and diseases without the help of

agrochemistry.

Ecosystems of the Future: Engineering Carbon

Sequestering Bio- and Ecosystems in Regenerative

Land Use

Global natural changes and an increase in the

demand of citizens for the quality of the environment

require effective forecasting and counteraction to the

implementation of negative future scenarios.

Traditional land use technologies in agriculture

and forestry do not meet modern requirements for

maintaining ecosystem resilience, maintaining soil

health and biodiversity (Polyakova, 2011). Modern

agricultural practices are aimed at maximizing

productivity by depleting environmental components

and artificially shifting the ecosystem balance. A

transition to regenerative land use with a focus on

carbon sequestration is needed

"Carbon landfills" of the West Siberian

megatransect: dynamics, functions and mechanisms

of stabilization of climatically active gases in

ecosystems of various ranks will ensure the formation

of the university's leadership position in the field of

engineering of carbon landfills and stations through

the development of methods and models for

monitoring CAG flows in various ecosystems.

Project objectives:

Implement a program of field experiments,

including at the carbon landfills being created (the

pilot site was opened in August 2021 at the Tyumen

State University biostation on Lake Kuchak), for

different natural zones from the forest-steppe to the

Arctic.

Models of changes in the carbon balance in

various natural and anthropogenic systems under

current and future land use and climate change have

been created using Earth remote sensing

technologies. Technological products "Carbon

Calculator" and Neuromaps were developed using

artificial intelligence technology to calculate carbon

balances by land users for the implementation of

climate projects in agriculture and forestry. Adapt

these products for the practice of agriculture and

forestry (with the Institute of Economics and

Organization of Industrial Production of the Siberian

Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences).

Software and hardware tools for predicting and

assessing the biosequestration potential have been

developed by studying the chlorophyll-bearing

parenchyma of plants at the level of an individual leaf

and leaf canopy to develop software and hardware

tools for predicting and assessing the biosequestration

potential of plants (with the Botanical Garden of the

Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences)

New educational programs (Master's, APE) on

accounting for balances of climatically active gases

have been implemented in partnership with leading

research centers (IPEE RAS, Southern State

University, University of Münster).

A package proposal for the engineering of carbon

landfills and carbon stations for various types of

ecosystems for external customers has been formed.

The Role of Different Types of Western Siberian

Water Bodies in the Carbon Balance

The goal is to assess the role of water bodies in the

carbon balance of the main natural zones of Western

Siberia in order to assess their contribution to the

overall carbon balance of the territory of the

macroregion.

Project objectives:

A network of stations has been created for long-

term monitoring of the balance of greenhouse gases

in typical natural water bodies.

Studies have been carried out on the dynamics of

the balance of greenhouse gases in the territories with

a change in the hydrological regime, leading to the

creation of artificial or the disappearance of natural

water bodies (Porfiriev, 2010).

A parametric mathematical model of the cycle of

organic matter in typical water bodies of the region

has been developed.

Create a methodology for calculating changes in

the carbon balance of water bodies, taking into

account hydrological features and climatic trends in

Western Siberia.

Methodological recommendations for the

calculation of the carbon balance in the technogenic

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

development of territories with a change in the water

regime of natural water bodies or the creation of

artificial reservoirs are proposed.

Sequestration and adaptive potential of plants in

extreme conditions of the Northern Trans-Urals

The goal is to develop a new model of

regenerative farming based on the bioresource

collection of Tyumen State University and its use in

agriculture and forestry in the macroregion.

Project objectives:

The bank of plant genomic diversity has been

expanded.

Species, varieties were selected and new forms of

cultivated plants for regenerative agriculture with

high adaptive properties were created, the variability

of morphometric parameters and physiological

properties of plants in response to biotic and abiotic

stress factors (lack of water, salinity, extreme

temperatures) was studied.

Agrotechnical methods for growing ground cover

plants for the tasks of regenerative agriculture have

been developed.

Methods and a set of crops are proposed for the

transition of agricultural producers to regenerative

methods of cultivation of agricultural crops.

New methods of phytorestoration and

bioremediation of technogenically disturbed

territories have been developed, including the

selection of materials that provide carbon

sequestration.

As a result, new ways were proposed to increase

the biosequestration potential of agriculture and

forestry in the Tyumen region and on a national scale

through the introduction of innovative

environmentally sound agrotechnological

technologies.

3.1 Creation of a Distributed Center

for Genomic Analytics

The goal is to create an analytical service for the use

of genomic technologies with its subsequent

introduction into agrotechnological practice.

Project objectives:

A service for metagenomic screening of the

environment has been created - an informative toolkit

for assessing the quality of the environment and

biodiversity.

The complex of bioinformatic methods for

assembling and analyzing genomes and

transcriptomes has been optimized.

Scaled barcoding (genetic barcoding) of ticks,

insects and microorganisms of the macroregion for

environmental screening.

Two new research laboratories have been

established under the leadership of young scientists in

the field of ecological genetics and phylogenetics.

Competence center in the field of functional research

of soil biota was established

Thus, breeding for these sorts of varieties and

species is more complex than breeding for

homogeneous, manageable, high-yielding systems.

But it is necessary in the face of declining global

resources with a growing population of the planet, as

well as taking into account the inevitable introduction

of strict carbon standards, fines, and quotas into the

agricultural industry (Nikoláeva, 2018). The subject

of selection work should be non-obvious properties

and point effects on molecular mechanisms, and not

simple formulas like "yield / cost". Forests, in turn,

are the main natural sink of greenhouse gases in

terrestrial ecosystems in the world. As the world's

leading forest power, Russia has natural natural

capital in the form of forests accumulating 625

million tons of greenhouse gases annually. This gives

Russia significant competitive advantages, since the

absorption of greenhouse gas emissions by forests

occurs without significant costs from the state, the

cost of measures to reduce emissions - for example,

to extinguish forest fires - is moderate (3 billion

rubles per year) compared to other types of measures,

for example, to improve energy efficiency in industry.

In general, in Russia there is a huge and still not used

reserve for reducing the carbon footprint of products

due to the existing protective and other categories of

forests on agricultural lands (Porfiriev, 2010). Forests

located on agricultural land are of great importance

for the absorption of greenhouse gases.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In general, Russia has a huge untapped reserve to

reduce the carbon footprint of products through

existing protective and other forest categories on

agricultural land. Forests located on agricultural land

are of great importance for the absorption of

greenhouse gases.

This gives Russia significant competitive

advantages, since the absorption of greenhouse gas

emissions by forests occurs without significant costs

on the part of the state, the cost of measures to reduce

emissions – for example, to extinguish forest fires –

is moderate (3 billion rubles per year) compared to

other types of measures, for example, to improve

energy efficiency in industry. In general, Russia has a

huge and still unused reserve for reducing the carbon

footprint of products due to existing protective and

Engineering of the Carbon Sequestration Function of Ecosystems in Climate Projects

other categories of forests on agricultural land.

Forests located on agricultural land are of great

importance for the absorption of greenhouse gases.

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MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher