Agri-environment schemes and greenhouse gas mitigation – priority options

The former Environmental Stewardship scheme funded the delivery of environmental management on farmland. Several options offered opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon sequestration, some without incurring yield penalties, or by achieving emissions reductions in excess of the emissions attributed to the removal of the crop or livestock production alone. These options were highlighted as priority options, and allocated and assessed within one of three categories, options that: (1) maintained agricultural production, (2) removed a proportion of a field from production, and (3) created habitat and required a change in land use. The potential implications of the newly introduced Ecological Focus Areas are discussed.