Grazing for carbon

The potential of grasslands as a carbon (C) sink in Europe is large despite the number of uncertainties related to the effect of grazing systems on C sequestration. The EIP-AGRI Focus Group (FG) ‘Grazing for Carbon’, a temporary group of 20 selected European experts from research and practice, shared knowledge and experience from different disciplines on the relationship between grazing and soil C. The FG explored grazing management strategies, drivers and barriers for different grazing systems, as well as tools and business models to support them successfully. The overall aim was to identify how to increase the soil C content in grazing systems. Six priorities were addressed: the effects and trade-offs associated with approaches to sequestering C in different grazing systems, the effect of grazing on C and soil nutrients, the role of plant mixtures and native species, general guidelines for optimal grazing, effective monitoring of soil C as a tool for soil quality evaluation and incentives to promote the adoption of grazing systems to optimise soil C content.