Investigating the cost-efficiency of rewetting German organic soils

Degraded organic soils are the largest source of atmospheric CO2 outside the energy sector, responsible for five percent of Germany’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Previous studies have shown a high potential of both protecting non-degraded soils and rewetting degraded soils for mitigating GHG emissions. However, these emission assessments provide little information about opportunity cost and regional cost-efficiency.

This study maps local emission benefits and management cost of organic soil restoration in Germany using a county-scale resolution (EU NUTS level 3/LAU level 1). We integrate these data in a recursive dynamic European agricultural sector model. This model determines the global agricultural market equilibrium for major agricultural commodities. In the European Union, the model depicts several intensities of crop and livestock production. To compute national abatement cost functions for rewetting organic soils in Germany, we solve the model for a wide range of alternative carbon prices applied to emission reductions from organic soils. From the optimal solution, we determine total emission reductions from organic soils in Germany accompanied by adjustments in agricultural production, land values, commodity prices, and international commodity trade.

The resulting spatial data will define economically attractive soil areas in Germany for agricultural mitigation efforts and for future in-depth case studies and stakeholder discussions. Thus, the results will guide optimal strategies for organic soil restoration.