Centro de Estudos de Carbono em Agricultura Tropical (CCARBON)
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
To achieve CCARBON/USP's objectives, strategic, multidisciplinary and innovative research lines will cover five major areas:
SOIL
PLANT
ANIMAL
ATMOSPHERE
DIGITAL TOOLS
CHALLENGING QUESTIONS
SOIL
Are the Brazilian agricultural soils acting as C sinks or sources?
How changes on the composition and activity of the soil microbiome can be related to the capacity of C sequestration in agriculture systems?
Are there synergies between soil carbon sequestration and soil health and other ecosystem services?
How to transform degraded soils into climate-smart solutions?
How to measure the carbon consumed by enhanced weathering (EW) of silicate rock powders (SRP) applied to soil with sufficient certainty for the C capture certification/ C credit market?
To which extent restoration and commercial tree plantations mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture?
How can ecological restoration, planned with spatial intelligence and implemented with quality and high natural diversity contribute to C sequestration and ecosystem services in tropical agriculture?
How to boost the efficiency and rate of C sequestration by plants?
Is it possible to fast develop new plant cultivars with better C sequestration, keeping agronomical performance similar or higher than the current standards?
How to exploit the interplay of soil-plant-insect pest microbiomes in pest management to enhance carbon accumulation, mineralization and sequestration?
Are the Agri-Food systems prepared to address the changing demands for healthy, low-C emissions, and sustainable ingredients in food?
PLANT
ANIMAL
How grazing management may help to mitigate GHG emissions in pastoral systems of animal production?
How manipulating the microbiome profile in the rumen through feed biomass can mitigate enteric methane in grazing ruminants under tropical conditions?
How can the adoption of more intensive grain processing methods, the use of genetically modified corn grain high in alpha amylase and their combinations with corn ethanol byproducts (distiller’s grains) in feedlot cattle diets contribute to the increase in the world beef supply while decreasing GHG emissions?
Which are the possible impacts of climate change on the main Brazilian crops?
Can crop rotations schemes contribute to reducing GHG emission while increasing bioenergy crops production?
ATMOSPHERE
DIGITAL TOOLS
What are the best approaches to predict, map and monitor soil C and associated data using geotechnologies?
How integrated crop modeling can assist the transition to more productive and climate-smart agricultural systems?
What are the socio-economic impacts of new technologies related to low-C agriculture? The interactions between new low carbon technologies in agriculture and the circular flow of resources in the economy.
We are the Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON/USP), affiliated with the Rectorate of the University of São Paulo (USP) and headquartered at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) in Piracicaba – SP, Brazil. CCARBON/USP creation was approved by the Research, Dissemination and Innovation Centers Program (CEPID) of the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).
