AGRICULTURE, FORESTS, FOOD

Projet scientifique

Scientific project:

Three main axes are developed in this research initiative:

1/ Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options in agricultural sectors: the cases of France and China

2/ Multi-criteria evaluation of GHG mitigation projects: application to forestry, biofuels and agricultural projects.

3/ Soil uses and interconnections between agriculture and forests 

Given the considerable part played by agriculture in producing GHG emissions and the need to feed the world’s population, how can these two be effectively reconciled?

• Development of an optimization model for GHG abatement curves in the French and Chinese agricultural sectors.
• Econometric study of the main determinants of the volatility of agricultural commodity prices, such as climate change, subsidy policies for biofuels and the financialization of markets.

Forests provide numerous ecosystem services and socio-economic co-benefits, while agriculture provides food and biomass. What synergies and trade-offs are there between these different ecosystem services and the fight against climate change?

• Evaluation of the inclusion of poverty in REDD+ projects.
• Carrying out theoretical and empirical work in particular through the biomass use model in the European electricity sector.

Important short-term (price) and long-term (development) interactions shape the trade-offs between agriculture and forests, and determine possible ecological and economic tensions. How are these tensions to be assessed and eased? What potential synergies does agroforestry provide?

• Analysis of the theory of forest transition and land use in the long term.
• Spatial analyses on the impact of the soybean sector on deforestation.