Measuring and monitoring soil carbon sequestration

Soil carbon sequestration

Soil carbon dynamics and potential carbon sequestration by rangelands.

The USA has about 336 Mha of grazing lands of which rangelands account for 48%. Changes in rangeland soil C can occur in response to a wide range of management and environmental factors. Grazing, fire, and fertilization have been shown to affect soil C storage in rangelands, as has converting marginal croplands into grasslands. Carbon losses due to soil erosion can influence soil C storage on r...

Soil carbon sequestration in United States rangelands

Rangelands are uncultivated lands that include grasslands, savannahs, steppes, shrub lands, deserts and tundra. The native vegetation on rangelands is predominantly grasses, forbs and shrubs (Kothmann, 1974). Rangelands cover 31 percent of the land surface area of the United States (Havstad et al., 2009), and up to half of the land surface area worldwide (Lund, 2007). Most land areas that are n...

Soil Carbon Sequestration through Desertification Control

Desertification, a natural process, is exacerbated by anthropogenic activities. It reduces soil productivity, jeopardizes food security, impairs environment quality, accelerates global warming and exacerbates global security risks. Degradation of soil and vegetation aggravates the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The biophysical processes of soil and vegetation degradation are ...

Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change

The increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 by 31% since 1750 from fossil fuel combustion and land use change necessitates identification of strategies for mitigating the threat of the attendant global warming. Since the industrial revolution, global emissions of carbon (C) are estimated at 270F 30 Pg (Pg = petagram= 10 g = 1 billion ton) due to fossil fuel combustion and 136F 55 Pg due to...