Contesting land-based greenhouse gas removal futures: Emerging sociotechnical visions of biochar in UK agriculture

IF 4.3 2区社会学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Agriculture and Human Values Pub Date : 2026-10-01 DOI:10.1007/s10460-026-10984-5

Catherine Price, Carol Morris

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Abstract

This paper critically examines the emerging sociotechnical visions of biochar within UK agriculture, focusing on its potential role in greenhouse gas removal (GGR) and the broader net zero agenda. Agriculture is framed as both a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and a unique sector capable of acting as a carbon sink, positioning it at the heart of debates about climate change mitigation. The paper adopts a sociotechnical visions framework to illuminate how stakeholders align with, contest, and propose alternatives to the dominant net zero sociotechnical imaginary. We identify two overarching sociotechnical visions of biochar in UK agriculture. The first is a sociotechnical vision of greenhouse gas removal through biochar produced at scale and applied to agricultural land, detailing both farmer alignment with and contestation of this approach. The second is a sociotechnical vision of biochar for multiple on-farm benefits, including farm business benefits, enhanced agricultural production and improved on-farm biodiversity. The analysis shows that the future of biochar in UK agriculture is characterised by diversity and contestation, requiring governance frameworks that accommodate multiple, sometimes competing, sociotechnical visions. This pluralism offers opportunities for more just, inclusive, achievable, and transformative pathways for biochar in UK agriculture. Additionally, the paper contributes to the literature on sociotechnical imaginaries and sociotechnical visions by foregrounding the dynamic interplay and negotiation between top-down institutional imaginaries—such as net zero—and emergent, grassroots visions developed by farmers and other agricultural stakeholders.

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竞争基于土地的温室气体去除的未来：生物炭在英国农业的新兴社会技术愿景

本文批判性地考察了英国农业中生物炭的新兴社会技术愿景，重点关注其在温室气体去除（GGR）和更广泛的净零议程中的潜在作用。农业被定义为温室气体排放的重要来源，也是一个能够充当碳汇的独特部门，使其处于有关减缓气候变化的辩论的核心。本文采用社会技术愿景框架来阐明利益相关者如何与占主导地位的净零社会技术想象保持一致，竞争并提出替代方案。我们确定了英国农业中生物炭的两个总体社会技术愿景。第一个是通过大规模生产并应用于农业用地的生物炭来消除温室气体的社会技术愿景，详细介绍了农民对这种方法的认同和争议。第二种是生物炭的社会技术愿景，具有多种农场效益，包括农场商业效益、提高农业生产和改善农场生物多样性。分析表明，生物炭在英国农业中的未来具有多样性和争议性的特点，需要能够容纳多种（有时是竞争的）社会技术愿景的治理框架。这种多元化为英国农业中的生物炭提供了更加公正、包容、可实现和变革性的途径。此外，本文通过强调自上而下的制度想象（如净零）与农民和其他农业利益相关者开发的新兴基层愿景之间的动态相互作用和谈判，为社会技术想象和社会技术愿景的文献做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Agriculture and Human Values 农林科学-科学史与科学哲学

CiteScore

6.70

自引率

13.30%

发文量

审稿时长

>36 weeks

期刊介绍： Agriculture and Human Values is the journal of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society. The Journal, like the Society, is dedicated to an open and free discussion of the values that shape and the structures that underlie current and alternative visions of food and agricultural systems. To this end the Journal publishes interdisciplinary research that critically examines the values, relationships, conflicts and contradictions within contemporary agricultural and food systems and that addresses the impact of agricultural and food related institutions, policies, and practices on human populations, the environment, democratic governance, and social equity.