Carbon cycle research

7 U.S.C. § 6711

• Title: 7 — Agriculture
• Chapter: 96 — GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Text

(a) In general
To the extent funds are made available for this purpose, the Secretary shall provide a grant to the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases, acting through Kansas State University, to develop, analyze, and implement, through the land grant universities described in subsection (b), carbon cycle research at the national, regional, and local levels.
(b) Land grant universities
The land grant universities referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Colorado State University.
(2) Iowa State University.
(3) Kansas State University.
(4) Michigan State University.
(5) Montana State University.
(6) Purdue University.
(7) Ohio State University.
(8) Texas A&M University.
(9) University of Nebraska.
(c) Use
Land grant universities described in subsection (b) shall use funds made available under this section—
(1) to conduct research to improve the scientific basis of using land management practices to increase soil carbon sequestration, including research on the use of new technologies to increase carbon cycle effectiveness, such as biotechnology and nanotechnology;
(2) to enter into partnerships to identify, develop, and evaluate agricultural best practices, including partnerships between—
(A) Federal, State, or private entities; and
(B) the Department of Agriculture;
(3) to develop necessary computer models to predict and assess the carbon cycle;
(4) to estimate and develop mechanisms to measure carbon levels made available as a result of—
(A) voluntary Federal conservation programs;
(B) private and Federal forests; and
(C) other land uses;
(5) to develop outreach programs, in coordination with Extension Services, to share information on carbon cycle and agricultural best practices that is useful to agricultural producers; and
(6) to collaborate with the Great Plains Regional Earth Science Application Center to develop a space-based carbon cycle remote sensing technology program to—
(A) provide, on a near-continual basis, a real-time and comprehensive view of vegetation conditions;
(B) assess and model agricultural carbon sequestration; and
(C) develop commercial products.
(d) Cooperative research
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary, in cooperation with departments and agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (which may use any of their statutory authorities) and with eligible entities, may carry out research to promote understanding of—
(A) the flux of carbon in soils and plants (including trees); and
(B) the exchange of other greenhouse gases from agriculture.
Research under this subsection may be carried out through the competitive awarding of grants and cooperative agreements to colleges and universities (as defined in section 3103 of this title).
Research conducted under this subsection shall encourage collaboration among scientists with expertise in the areas of soil science, agronomy, agricultural economics, forestry, and other agricultural sciences to focus on—
(A) developing data addressing carbon losses and gains in soils and plants (including trees) and the exchange of methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture;
(B) understanding how agricultural and forestry practices affect the sequestration of carbon in soils and plants (including trees) and the exchange of other greenhouse gases, including the effects of new technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology;
(C) developing cost-effective means of measuring and monitoring changes in carbon pools in soils and plants (including trees), including computer models;
(D) evaluating the linkage between federal conservation programs and carbon sequestration;
(E) developing methods, including remote sensing, to measure the exchange of carbon and other greenhouse gases sequestered, and to evaluate leakage, performance, and permanence issues; and
(F) assessing the applicability of the results of research conducted under this subsection for developing methods to account for the impact of agricultural activities (including forestry) on the exchange of greenhouse gases.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007.
(e) Extension projects
The Secretary, in cooperation with departments and agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (which may use any of their statutory authorities), and local extension agents, experts from institutions of higher education that offer a curriculum in agricultural and biological sciences, and other local agricultural or conservation organizations, may implement extension projects (including on-farm projects with direct involvement of agricultural producers) that combine measurement tools and modeling techniques into integrated packages to monitor the carbon sequestering benefits of conservation practices and the exchange of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture which demonstrate the feasibility of methods of measuring and monitoring—
(A) changes in carbon content and other carbon pools in soils and plants (including trees); and
(B) the exchange of other greenhouse gases.
The Secretary may disseminate to farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and appropriate State agencies in each State information concerning—
(A) the results of projects under this subsection; and
(B) the manner in which the methods used in the projects might be applicable to the operations of the farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and State agencies.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007.
(f) Administrative costs
Not more than 3 percent of the funds made available for this section may be used by the Secretary to pay administrative costs incurred in carrying out this section.
(g) Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.

History

(Pub. L. 106–224, title II, §221, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 407; Pub. L. 107–171, title VII, §7223, title IX, §9009, May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 454, 483; Pub. L. 110–234, title VII, §7407, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1252; Pub. L. 110–246, §4(a), title VII, §7407, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2013.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification
Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.
Section was enacted as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, and not as part of the Global Climate Change Prevention Act of 1990 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments
2008—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–246, §7407, added subsec. (g) and struck out former subsec. (g). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2002 through 2007 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section."
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–171, §7223(1), substituted "To the extent funds are made available for this purpose, the Secretary shall provide" for "Of the amount made available under section 261(a)(2), the Secretary shall use $15,000,000 to provide".
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 107–171, §9009, added subsecs. (d) and (e). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (f).
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 107–171, §9009(1), redesignated subsec. (d) as (f).
Pub. L. 107–171, §7223(2), substituted "for this section" for "under subsection (a) of this section".
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107–171, §7223(3), added subsec. (g).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of this title.