The Potential for Soils to Mitigate Climate Change Through Carbon Sequestration

The importance of soils as a source and sink for atmospheric carbon (C) is well established. Human activities from prehistoric times to present have altered the soil's ability to store C. The C balance of agricultural land and other land use changes such as loss of wetlands and deforestation has resulted in significant losses of soil organic C (SOC) globally. The potential exists through agronomic practices and land management to reverse C loss to the atmosphere. Practices such as use of manure, cover crops, crop rotation diversity, pasture improvement, reforestation, and wetland restoration have the potential to sequester C and reverse the C enrichment of the atmosphere. However, the potential of soil C sequestration maybe limited in practice due to landscape variability, the need for nitrogen (N) to create stable soil C, and the influence of atmospheric change and climate warming. Regardless of these limitations, the benefits of increasing SOC sequestration even on a limited basis are important for maintaining and increasing crop productivity to supporting vital ecosystem services and should be supported through advanced research initiatives.