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COMMUNITYWIDE
What are natural and working lands?
California’s natural and working lands include the state’s forests, rangelands, urban greenspaces, wetlands, and farms. These diverse and unique land uses function as carbon sinks (i.e., sequestration) and carbon sources (e.g., wildfire), and include emissions from both natural and anthropogenic activities.
Landscape management and agricultural operations are a large component of natural and working land emissions within the county, and include emissions from activities such as crop burning, enteric fermentation, manure management, farm and landscaping equipment operation, pesticide use, and fertilizer applications.
What are the benefits associated with reducing working landscape emissions?
Reducing emissions from our natural and working lands involves activities like phasing out diesel-powered agricultural equipment, incorporating sustainable agricultural practices, protecting existing tree canopy, and increasing and expanding our urban forests. These actions can result in:
- Improved air quality, by reducing exhaust emissions
- Reduced health risks, particularly to workers and other receptors in the immediate vicinity of the emissions source
- Improved soil health and longevity, which can increase yield and crop quality
COMMUNITYWIDE
General Plan CAP Program AG-I: Fossil Fuel-Powered Equipment Replacement
Grant funding provided by The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District provides grant funding to help phase out older diesel-powered engines and equipment used in landscaping and agriculture operations. These efforts have reduced GHG emissions by approximately 2600 MTCO2e GHG emissions since 2016.
Communitywide
General Plan CAP Program COS-H: County Tree Planting Program
Multiple County agencies implement CAP Program COS-H County Tree Planting Program, which increases Ventura County’s tree canopy, particularly in urban forests, woodland, and savannahs.
Increasing and protecting existing tree canopy provides many environmental and human benefits. Some of those benefits include:
- Reducing GHG emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide
- Providing a home to wildlife
- Improving air quality by filtering out particulate matter
- Cooling surrounding areas and reducing the heat island effect by providing shade
Since the start of CAP Program COS-H, approximately 2800 MTCO2e have been sequestered.