§ 6711 — Carbon Cycle Research

(a) 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) 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) 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. (1) 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. (2) 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). (3) 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. (4) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007. (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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) 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) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.