Agriculture & land use in Gelderland
Agriculture and land use cause 57% of non-energy emissions in Gelderland, with methane from dairy cattle fermentation as the largest source. Nine Drawdown solutions together deliver up to 2.549 Mt CO₂-eq reduction and up to 0.394 Mt sequestration by 2030. Part of the Climate Action Recap Gelderland.
← Part of the Gelderland climate action plan
About this sector analysis
Sector: Agriculture & land use, Province of Gelderland.
Largest source: Methane from dairy cattle fermentation. The second-largest emission is nitrogen, mainly from animal manure, followed by fertiliser use on land.
Method: the Drawdown methodology (Project Drawdown), applied to Gelderland’s non-energy greenhouse gas emissions.
Greatest leverage: a shift towards conservation and regenerative agriculture, combined with a smaller livestock herd and a more plant-based diet.
Source and targets
The agriculture and land use sector is responsible for 57% of non-energy carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in Gelderland. Methane is the largest emission, mostly arising from the fermentation process of dairy cattle. The second-largest emission is nitrogen, mainly from animal manure, followed by fertiliser use on land.
The Gelderland Climate Plan sets an ambition of 1.9 Mt reduction by 2030 for this sector. A shift to healthy soil, nature-inclusive farming, the manure and protein transition, and less food waste should achieve those goals. The Climate Action Recap underlines these targets and shows potential reduction up to 2.549 Mt CO₂-eq by 2030 by implementing Drawdown solutions. For sequestration, potential runs up to 0.394 Mt by 2030. Sequestration does not count towards the 55% reduction target in the Gelderland Climate Plan, but is set there at 0.15–0.19 Mt CO₂-eq.
| Framework | Reduction 2030 | Sequestration 2030 |
|---|---|---|
| Gelderland Climate Plan | 1.3–2.2 Mt | 0.15–0.19 Mt |
| Drawdown climate solutions | 0.298–2.549 Mt | 0.114–0.394 Mt |
Nine solutions compared
How food is grown, what is eaten, and what happens to residual streams and waste determines a large part of the ecological footprint. The following Drawdown solutions are promising for both reducing identified emissions and sequestering CO₂-eq. Values are 2030 potential, in Mt CO₂-eq.
| Drawdown solution | Reduction 2030 | Sequestration 2030 |
|---|---|---|
| Biochar | 0.002–0.004 | 0 |
| Conservation & regenerative agriculture | 0.004–1.346 | 0.010–0.072 |
| Nutrient management | 0.025–0.173 | 0 |
| Plant-rich diet | 0.675–1.126 | 0 |
| Reduced food waste | 0.020–0.137 | 0 |
| Silvopasture | 0.246–0.985 | 0.053–0.211 |
| Tree intercropping, perennial staple crops, tree plantations on pasture | 0.001–0.004 | 0.005–0.018 |
| Afforestation on degraded land | n/a | 0.033–0.066 |
| Temperate forest restoration | n/a | 0.013–0.027 |
| Totals | 0.298–2.549 | 0.114–0.394 |
Potential reduction and sequestration within the agriculture and land use sector based on Drawdown solutions, in Mt CO₂-eq by 2030. Plant-rich diet is a scope 3 solution: emission reduction does not occur only within Gelderland and therefore does not count towards the final totals.
Per solution
Below, each solution with a short explanation, 2030 potential and regional application in Gelderland. Full scenarios, assumptions and sources are in the PDF.
Biochar
Biochar is a carbon-rich, highly stable soil amendment produced as a by-product of pyrolysis. Wood residue, manure and agricultural residual waste can be used as feedstock. In soil, biochar stabilises photosynthetic carbon and reduces other greenhouse gas emissions. On infertile sandy soils it limits nutrient leaching. Crop yield on treated land is roughly 18% higher, based on IPCC figures.
Biochar in Gelderland. Sandy soils in the Veluwe, the IJssel delta and the Achterhoek face significant acidification, causing tree death and biodiversity loss. Precisely on these acidified soils, biochar application is highly promising.
Conservation and regenerative agriculture
Conservation agriculture rests on minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and diversified crop rotations. Regenerative agriculture adds compost and organic production among other things, replacing both conventional and conservation agriculture. Both are one-off adjustments that then deliver large reduction and sequestration. The calculation also includes herd reduction: this offers the greatest reduction potential in combination with regenerative principles.
Regenerative agriculture in Gelderland. Gelderland has the second-largest area of organic farmland in the Netherlands, after Flevoland and Friesland. The transition could apply to roughly 225,000 ha. Initiatives such as Herenboeren and Commonland are already working on this. The largest impact arises when regenerative principles are combined with halving the livestock herd.
Nutrient management
Fertiliser is routinely over-applied in conventional agriculture, causing nitrogen emissions — a greenhouse gas with a warming effect 298 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Nutrient management applies the right source, dose, timing and placement, so crops take up a higher share of the fertiliser. No new technology is needed, making it exceptionally simple to apply.
Nutrient management in Gelderland. Substantial fertiliser is used and substantial animal manure is available from livestock farming. In total 225,000 ha of land is available for nutrient management, resulting in better soil quality and less water pollution and biodiversity loss. A smaller herd directly reduces manure.
Plant-rich diet
Project Drawdown defines a plant-rich diet as meeting daily protein needs with healthy, plant-rich food, produced locally, based on 2,250 calories per day. Global dietary preferences around meat, fish and dairy remain a major driver of emissions from agriculture, deforestation and land use. Even small behavioural changes deliver a significant effect. Short food chains also restore the relationship between citizens and farmers: 1 in 10 Gelderland farmers already sells through short chains.
Plant-rich diet in Gelderland. Eastern Netherlands is strongly focused on the protein transition. A plant-rich diet reduces demand for farmland through a smaller livestock herd, freeing space for new nature or renewable energy generation. This is a scope 3 solution and therefore does not count towards the final totals.
Reduced food waste
Globally, 30 to 40 percent of all food produced is wasted somewhere in the supply chain. The further food travels through the chain before being discarded, the more resources and emissions are lost. Better storage and transport systems, awareness and behaviour change can substantially reduce that waste.
Reduced food waste in Gelderland. Every year, 82,000 tonnes of food is wasted in Gelderland households, equal to 131 kg CO₂-eq per person per year. Reduction is possible across the whole chain: on farms, during transport, in supermarkets, retail, hospitality and at home. Less waste lowers demand for farmland.
Silvopasture
Silvopasture adds trees to pastures for higher productivity and carbon sequestration. Pastures scattered with trees store five to ten times more carbon than treeless pastures. The trees improve soil fertility and water management, protect livestock from sun and wind, and there are indications that ruminants digest a silvopasture diet more efficiently and therefore emit less methane.
Silvopasture in Gelderland. Mixing agricultural activities, for example fruit cultivation with dairy cattle, is promising in Gelderland because much of this type of activity already takes place. In total, 195,000 ha of non-degraded grassland with minimal or moderate slope is available for silvopasture.
Tree intercropping, perennial staple crops and tree plantations on pasture
These three solutions are applied together. Tree intercropping mixes crops rather than growing them in monoculture, making soil healthier and more productive. Perennial staple crops sequester carbon particularly effectively because there is no ploughing and roots stay alive. Tree plantations on pasture allow double land use: grain and livestock on the same land, which is never turned over.
Application in Gelderland. Roughly 30,000 ha of degraded and non-degraded arable land is available where this solution and related innovations can be applied. Diversifying agricultural activities makes soil healthier and increases biodiversity, strengthening the Gelderland ecosystem.
Afforestation on degraded land
Afforestation is planting trees on degraded land for timber production or other use. The amount of carbon sequestered depends on species, location, soil and structure. The potential is estimated more conservatively than other tree-based solutions, since solutions with higher sequestration rates — such as tree intercropping, silvopasture and regenerative agriculture — take priority. Still, afforestation is crucial for climate mitigation, building material and restoring degraded land.
Afforestation in Gelderland. The province has ambitions to plant 1,700 ha of forest and 1 million trees, including in urban areas. The total promising area covers 26,564 ha of non-cultivated land with an agricultural designation, plus part of the 115,427 ha of existing nature land where trees can be added.
Temperate forest restoration
Temperate forest restoration concerns restoring and protecting forests on degraded land. Temperate forests hold roughly 10% of all terrestrial carbon and 20% of global plant biomass, and young forests sequester carbon rapidly in soil and biomass. Since 2013, deforestation in the Netherlands has caused annual net emissions of 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂. Forest restoration through natural regeneration is relatively cheap and delivers biodiversity, watershed protection and resilience against disease and pests.
Temperate forest restoration in Gelderland. Part of Gelderland’s forests are under pressure from harmful nitrogen deposition. Roughly 10% of the forest is degraded, about 9,800 ha of temperate forest that could be restored. Realising the sequestration potential requires that restored forest is legally protected and not repurposed for, for example, logging.
Method and sources
The analysis follows the Drawdown methodology of Project Drawdown, applied to Gelderland’s non-energy greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction and sequestration potential were calculated per solution in conservative and progressive scenarios, based on public datasets, sector benchmarks and the Gelderland Climate Plan 2021–2030. For carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, research from Wageningen University & Research (Lesschen, Hendriks, Porre, 2021) was used. This sector analysis was carried out in collaboration with Climate Cleanup and the Drawdown Europe Research Association (DERA).
Indicative, for prioritisation. All assumptions, system boundaries, scenarios and source references are set out in full in the PDF. The figures organise opportunities and are not project-specific guarantees.
Download the sector analysis
- Agriculture & land use (PDF) Full sector analysis. Download
- Climate Action Recap Gelderland (PDF) All four sectors. Download the full bundle
Insights from this project
Frequently asked questions
Agriculture and land use cause 57% of non-energy carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Gelderland. Methane from dairy cattle fermentation is the largest source, followed by nitrogen from animal manure and fertiliser.
Conservation and regenerative agriculture, combined with a smaller livestock herd, offers the largest reduction potential: up to 1.346 Mt CO₂-eq by 2030. Plant-rich diet follows with 0.675 to 1.126 Mt, though as a scope 3 solution it does not count towards the final totals.
The nine Drawdown solutions together deliver a reduction potential of 0.298 to 2.549 Mt CO₂-eq and a sequestration potential of 0.114 to 0.394 Mt CO₂-eq by 2030.
Sequestration comes mainly from silvopasture (0.053 to 0.211 Mt), afforestation on degraded land (0.033 to 0.066 Mt), conservation and regenerative agriculture (0.010 to 0.072 Mt), temperate forest restoration (0.013 to 0.027 Mt) and tree intercropping (0.005 to 0.018 Mt).
Further reading
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