COMET Global: Whole-farm GHG estimation and environmental diagnostics platform

Our overall project goal is to develop and deploy a state of the art system for full greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, operational at the scale of an individual entity (e.g., farm, livestock operation).

The COMET-Global platform will:

Be based on the existing US tool COMET-Farm (external page http://cometfarm.nrel.colostate.edu/)
Use advanced methods, including well validated process-based models that are run in real time using site-specific data on soil properties, climate and land use and management practices
Be flexible, user can select appropriate country specific methods and emission parameters
Be user friendly interface translated into several languages
Provide robust statistical uncertainty analyses of the results

Stakeholder involvement:

The system will be web-based, free and accessible by anyone
The target users are farmers, ranchers, land managers, environmental groups, governmental agencies as well as decision and policy makers

ETH contributions to the project:

Compilation of spatial data sets for Swiss conditions (soil, climate, and land use data to provide regionally relevant current land use/management choices)
Compilation of Swiss parameters and methods for estimating GHG emissions from animal production
The DayCent model parameterization for common crops grown in Switzerland and specific management practices, and an evaluation of the model ability to reliably simulate crop productivity, long term soil carbon dynamics and soil N₂O emissions from Swiss cropping systems across various climate and soil conditions, and management options.

Partner institutions:

Colorado State University, USA
Joint Research Center – European Commission
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
Institut Français de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France
University Court of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

For further information please contact Johan Six ().