articleEuropean Journal of Soil ScienceJan 17, 2011Closed access

Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change: a critical re‐examination to identify the true and the false

Rothamsted Research

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Abstract

The term ‘carbon sequestration’ is commonly used to describe any increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) content caused by a change in land management, with the implication that increased soil carbon (C) storage mitigates climate change. However, this is only true if the management practice causes an additional net transfer of C from the atmosphere to land. Limitations of C sequestration for climate change mitigation include the following constraints: (i) the quantity of C stored in soil is finite, (ii) the process is reversible and (iii) even if SOC is increased there may be changes in the fluxes of other greenhouse gases, especially nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane. Removing land from annual cropping and…

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Authors

3

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Environmental science
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Soil carbon
  • Greenhouse gas
  • Land use, land-use change and forestry
  • Climate change
  • Crop residue
  • Land use
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Zero hunger
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