Assessing the economic potential for soil carbon sequestration: Terraces and agroforestry in the Peruvian Andes

摘要: Few if any studies have assessed the economic potential for carbon sequestration in agricultural production systems outside of the United States. In this study, an econometric-process simulation model is used to estimate carbon supply curves based on the adoption of terraces and agroforestry practices in the northern Peruvian Andes, under a range of plausible assumptions about carbon rates and productivity effects of terraces and agroforestry. The results show there is a relatively low economic potential for carbon sequestration in this system at carbon prices below $50 per ton, but that potential increases substantially for carbon prices above $50 per ton. Average costs per metric ton of carbon range from $25 to $150, a range similar to that found in other recent studies of agricultural and forestry carbon sequestration potential. The potential for carbon sequestration is found to depend in complex ways on the rates of carbon accumulation associated with terracing and agroforestry practices, and on the productivity of the carbon-sequestering practices.