CARAT: an innovative tool for quantifying carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems

Abstract

Agroforestry is widely recognized as a sustainable land-use practice that integrates agricultural production with numerous environmental benefits. Notably, the potential of agroforestry systems to sequester significant amounts of carbon (C) in both above- and belowground pools has put them forward as a promising climate change mitigation strategy. Previous research has estimated C stocks in agroforestry systems, but considerable variation was found depending on site-specific biological, edaphic, climatic and management factors. The CARbon Agroforestry Tool (CARAT) was developed to simulate and visualise the spatiotemporal variation in above- and belowground C stocks of agroforestry systems in temperate Europe with customized tree species selection, field design, land use and edaphic conditions. It allows users to quantify the long-term C sequestration in the tree biomass and in the soil, which could be relevant for a wide range of applications, including optimizing system design or assessment of the potential carbon credits a farmer could receive through agroforestry implementation. We believe that this tool represents an important leap forward in assessing and optimizing the C sequestration potential of specific agroforestry systems, and will allow upfront financial compensation in the context of rapidly emerging carbon farming practices. The tool will be readily available to practitioners, advisors, researchers and policy actors, and currently pioneering with respect to its user-friendliness and versatility.