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Context. Climate change can impact greatly on poorer and vulnerable communities, increasing the risk of natural disasters, and affecting agricultural production. Aims. This study aims to explore the potential impacts of climate smart agricultural practices (CSAP) on working farms in Karnal, Haryana, India. Methods. Practices studied included zero tillage, crop residue retention and crop diversification. We surveyed soil physical and chemical properties and greenhouse gas emissions on farms managed by either CSAP or conventional agriculture. Soil samples were collected at 0-20 cm depth under wheat grown in the winter season. Key results. Of the 70 farmers surveyed, 22 followed CSAP while 48 farmers used conventional practices. Soil pH was lower (7.76) for CSAP farms compared to conventional practices (7.99). Soil carbon was also higher (0.19% compared to 0.13%), as were total organic carbon stock (32.03 Mg [ha.sup.-1] compared to 25.26 Mg [ha.sup.-1]) and total carbon (0.24% compared to 0.16%). Significant interactions between farming type, pH and organic carbon, gravimetric and volumetric water content were observed. Conservation agriculture registered ~31% higher soil quality index over conventional practice. Higher wheat grain yield (5.99 t ha-l) was observed under conservation agriculture over conventional (5.49 t ha-l). Greenhouse gas emissions were also ~63% higher in conventional practices compared to CSAP. Conclusions. CSAP can improve soil properties through enrichment in soil organic carbon at the same time as reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Implications. CSAP provide an alternative to conventional agriculture practices in north-west India, irrespective of farm type and size. CSAP not only improve soil carbon pools, but also improve the overall quality of the soil. Keywords: CCAFS-MOT, climate smart village, conservation agriculture, green house gas emission, soil organic carbon, soil properties, soil quality, wheat grain yield., Introduction Human civilisation is currently at risk due to climate change and food insecurity; both of these issues are linked to earth's carbon (C) cycle (Mandal 2011). The atmospheric concentration [...]

Scotland's government is planning to build large-scale wind farms to reduce carbon emissions from electricity production, some of which could be situated on peatlands. We contend that wind farms on [...]

This dataset represents long-term marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves of all major emission sources of non-CO 2 greenhouse gases (GHGs); methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF 6 ). The work is based on existing short-term MAC curve datasets and recent literature on individual mitigation measures. The data represent a comprehensive set of MAC curves, covering all major non-CO 2 emission sources for 26 aggregated world regions. They are suitable for long-term global mitigation scenario development, as dynamical elements (technological progress, removal of implementation barriers) are included. The data is related to the research article: " Long-term marginal abatement cost curves of non-CO 2 greenhouse gases " [1].

India has the highest national freshwater demand globally and 91% of India's freshwater is used in the agriculture sector. Cereals account for over 50% of the dietary water footprint in India and represent a potential opportunity for reducing water use in Indian agriculture. This study combines governmental production and irrigation statistics with crop distribution maps to examine trends in annual water use for cereal production in India between 2005 and 2014. A new online water assessment tool, Cool Farm Tool Water (CFTW), was used to calculate water use and derive seasonal state-level blue and green water footprints for rice, wheat, sorghum, millet and maize. The analysis indicates that India achieved 26.4% increased total cereal production between 2005 and 2014 without additional water or land use. Cereal water footprints have declined due to higher yields for most crops and slightly lower rates of evapotranspiration. There has also been a shift in the area under production away from the Kharif (monsoon) towards the Rabi (dry) season in which total water footprints for all cereals except rice are substantially lower (-33.4% to -45.0% compared to Kharif), but show a significantly higher dependency on ground and surface water. The value of this study is two-fold. First, it provides a full assessment of production trends for the five major cereals in India for each year from 2005 to 2014 and links it to water use. Secondly, it uses updated seasonal water footprints, which demonstrate the potential for changes in cereal production practices to contribute to improved efficiency of water use in India. Future pressures on scarce water resources may encourage transition to cereals with lower irrigation dependency, in particular maize, but also sorghum and millet. In addition, increased emphasis on improving millet and sorghum yields would be of benefit to secure cereal production and reduce its overall water footprint., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Systems approaches have great potential for application in predictive ecology. In this paper, we present a range of examples, where systems approaches are being developed and applied at a range of scales in the field of global change and biogeochemical cycling. Systems approaches range from Bayesian calibration techniques at plot scale, through data assimilation methods at regional to continental scales, to multi-disciplinary numerical model applications at country to global scales. We provide examples from a range of studies and show how these approaches are being used to address current topics in global change and biogeochemical research, such as the interaction between carbon and nitrogen cycles, terrestrial carbon feedbacks to climate change and the attribution of observed global changes to various drivers of change. We examine how transferable the methods and techniques might be to other areas of ecosystem science and ecology.