The agriculture and land use greenhouse gas inventory (ALU) software guides an inventory compiler through the process of estimating greenhouse gas emissions and removals related to agricultural and forestry activities. The software simplifies the process of conducting the inventory by dividing the inventory analysis into steps to facilitate the compilation of activity data, assignment of emission/removal factors and completion of the calculations. The software also has internal checks to ensure data integrity. Many governments also have an interest in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry. Determining mitigation potential requires an understanding of both current emission trends and the influence of alternative land use and management practices on future emissions. The ALU software program is designed to support an evaluation of mitigation potentials using the inventory data as a baseline for projecting emission trends associated with management alternatives.

ALU can be used to estimate emissions and removals associated with biomass C stocks, soil C stocks, soil nitrous oxide emissions, rice methane emissions, enteric methane emissions, manure methane and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as non-CO₂ GHG emissions from biomass burning. Methods are based on IPCC guidelines.

Two versions of the ALU software are available:

The software has several innovative features including: