With its fast growth and significant biomass yield, second on land only to bamboo, hemp supports efficient land use. Research is underway in various locations to provide robust documentation to support hemp
environmental claims.
This includes:
- Once established, the hemp plant thrives well against competitors. Therefore, it may lessen the introduction of chemical inputs into the hemp industry as compared to some other commercial crops.
- Hemp maybe useful in carbon footprinting equations, as on average, it yields 4 times the biomass of an average forest in 90 days compared to 25 years in tree growth.
- Hemp is thought to provide a valuable break in a crop rotation for the purposes of disease and pest management.
- Hemp’s root system can break up compacted soil, it is thought to provide aeration. The roots may also help to control erosion.
- Hemp may contribute to pollution abatement through its ability to mitigate toxins from the ground through phytoremediation (decontaminating soil or water using plants and trees).
- Environmental stewardship programs, such as Agricultural Carbon Offset programs in Alberta may provide additional revenue to producers growing hemp. Agricultural Carbon Offset program in Alberta, the program used by hemp growers, requires farmers to register with an aggregation company prior to May 1st to claim credits for that year for the Conservation Cropping protocol.
