Tags climate change global warming kiss the ground lauren tucker regenerative farming small farms soil soil carbon sequestration soil health sammy blair an avid traveler and outdoorswoman, she has worked in and written about local food systems around the world. The global carbon cycle 5 basic concepts of carbon sequestration 7 challenges of enhancing soil carbon storage 9 technical potential of soil carbon sequestration using recommended practices 14 cobenefits of terrestrial sequestration 15 achieving global food security 16 farming soil carbon 18 need for new tools to measure som dynamics 19. Strategies to increase the soil carbon pool include soil. Thats more than the international 4 per initiative, which calls for an increase of 0. Survey of dutch soil organic research with regard to humification. Carbon management and sequestration center, the ohio state university, columbus, oh 43210, usa. The cumulative potential of soil c sequestration over 2550 years is 3060 pg. Oct 02, 2017 the study estimated that increased soil carbon sequestration could offset up to 3. The potential of soil organic carbon sequestration for. In a recent analysis of the effects of landuse change luc on carbon c sequestration and biodiversity, marques et al. Global hot spots of food insecurity number of food insecure people in the world has increased to 1020 million fao, 2009, and the u. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security r. Climate change, agriculture, water, and food security. Climate change and its impacts increases in temperature, changing precipitation patterns, floods, droughts will not only affect us but may also affect how soil provides these services.
Soil carbon sequestration is a solution to climate change. Carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, have caused a substantial increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide co 2 in the atmosphere. Winwin strategies for climate and food security 2017. It also supports the idea of economic development through the provision of payments to farmers in developing countries. This has resulted in unprecedented global warming, hydrological. Jun 11, 2004 soil carbon sequestration and global food security. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change an.
Most farming is intended to produce something thats harvested from the land. Soil and climate change european environment agency. Carbon sequestration in forests congressional research service 1 lobal climate change is a widespread and growing concern that has led to extensive international discussions and negotiations. Global climate policy impacts on livestock, land use. It is essential to recycling of dead and decaying organic matter and storing of plant nutrients, denaturing of pollutants and filtering of water, sequestering of carbon c and moderating of climate, and storing of germplasm and provisioning of habitat.
Carbon sequestration an overview sciencedirect topics. Soils need to be considered when assessing the impacts of. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change. We also evaluate the impacts of climate policies on livelihoods and food consumption in developing countries. Human and ecological systems rely on soil for the provision of water and nutrients for plant growth, the regulation of the water cycle and the storage of carbon. Global issues such as population growth, climate change, soil degradation, resource depletion, food security and carbon pricing are converging and highlighting the need for scalable solutions. It is essential to recycling of dead and decaying organic matter and storing of plant nutrients, denaturing of pollutants and filtering of water, sequestering of carbon c and moderating of climate, and storing of germplasm and provisioning of habitat for biodiversity. Soil carbon is key to address vulnerabilities of agriculture to climate change and food security issues preserving and increasing soil organic carbon brings multiple benefits increasing soil c in agricultural soils is feasible, but heterogeneous not a single good practice but adequate combination of practises in a given context. The health and vitality of soil everywhere, from the smallest backyard garden to the largest midwestern farm, plays an integral role in food production and its threatened by climate change. The soil c sequestration is a truly winwin strategy. The usgs is conducting assessments on two major types of carbon sequestration. Soil carbon sequestration food and agriculture organization of the.
This year both the uk climate change committee and the institute for european environmental policy included carbon sequestration among the critical levers required for agriculture to reach netzero and sharply. Food availability and agricultural production under climate change are discussed in chapter 5 food, fibre and forest products of the second volume of the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change ipcc, 2007 and a number of other studies that have been published since then e. Towards an international research program on soil carbon sequestration and food security the proposal, made by the french authorities ahead of cop21, to store annually four per mil of the soil organic carbon stock to offset current anthropogenic co2 emissions is confronted to stateofthe art. Soil, a natural body at the atmospherelithosphere interphase, is a dynamic entity and teeming with life. Dear colleagues, the 4 per initiative was launched in 2015 as a global initiative to promote the adoption of economically viable and ecologically sound agricultural practices. Carbon sequestration or carbon dioxide removal cdr is the longterm removal, capture or sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow or reverse atmospheric co2 pollution and to mitigate or reverse global warming carbon dioxide co2 is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. Pdf on jan 1, 2018, harshil parmar and others published soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Lal r 2004 soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. By introducing these sustainable farming methods in regions where a decline in agricultural would have the greatest negative effects on local populations, soil carbon sequestration could be an effective means of enhancing food security and addressing climate challenges. Soil carbon management and climate change springerlink. Pdf on jan 1, 2018, harshil parmar and others published soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security find, read. It also supports the idea of economic development through the provision of payments to farmers in developing countries for their stewardship and. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and. The soil carbon impacts of agriculture are ignored by current ghg accounting systems, which means that the current ghg emissions of agriculture have been greatly underestimated, the emissions of organic farming greatly overestimated, and the real potential of soil carbon sequestration overlooked.
What we know and dont know on may 89, 2018, the mit abdul latif jameel water and food systems lab jwafs held a twoday workshop titled. In the absence of nonannex i abatement policies, these impacts are modest. The carbon sink capacity of the worlds agricultural and degraded soils. An alternative option for climate change mitigation. The rate of soil organic carbon sequestration with adoption of recommended technologies depends on soil texture and structure, rainfall, temperature, farming system, and soil management. It is important to note that there is no single method that would best promote productivity in developing countries. Managing soils and ecosystems for mitigating anthropogenic. Soil carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation and. As the soil science society of america reports, many agronomic, forestry, and conservation practices, including best management practices, lead to a beneficial net gain in carbon fixation in soil, presenting global opportunities for a soil carbon economy. Special issue soil carbon sequestration for food security. Soil carbon sequestration can be estimated from field to global scale using numerical soilecosystem models. Compost key to sequestering carbon in the soil science. Pdf soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change. For nearly 2 decades, researchers in the soil science community have studied and estimated the potential of sequestering carbon in soil organic matter 2, 3.
With climate change a political and scientific priority, scrutiny is growing of soils potential role in capturing and storing carbon. Addressing climate change and food security through sustainable agriculture environmentally responsible farming can help actively enhance storage while introducing other cobenefits as well. The global potential of soc sequestration through these practices is 0. Dec 24, 2019 drought is a major risk in global agriculture. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. There is growing international interest in better managing soils to increase soil organic carbon soc content to contribute to climate change mitigation, to enhance resilience to climate change and to underpin food security, through initiatives such as international 4p initiative and the faos global assessment of soc sequestra. Nov, 2018 for nearly 2 decades, researchers in the soil science community have studied and estimated the potential of sequestering carbon in soil organic matter 2, 3. Field crop agriculture and climate change e3149 msu extension.
The major conclusion from the conference soil carbon sequestration for climate, food security and ecosystem services is that the soil must be considered as an engineer in combating climate change and that its role is. Review soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. How to measure, report and verify soil carbon change to. It uses plants to trap co2, then strategically uses practices such as reducing tilling, planting longerrooted crops and incorporating organic materials into the soil to encourage the trapped carbon to move intoand stay inthe soil. Soil carbon c is a dynamic and integral part of the global c cycle. When both compost and covercrops were added in the organiccertified system, soil carbon content increased 12. Contribution of working groups i, ii and iii to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change core writing team, pachauri, r. Leveraging drought risk reduction for sustainable food, soil. Potential impacts of climate change on food systems and food security, and possible adaptive responses 14 table 2. Biochar is an emerging product on the frontier of soil science that may help to mitigate these issues in a sustainable way. What we know and dont know to affect behavioral change need to be further investigated. This increase in atmospheric co 2 from about 280 to. Soil carbon sequestration for climate, food security and ecosystem services.
Soil carbon is a key component of functional ecosystems and crucial for food, soil, water and energy security. Global soil organic carbon assessment sciencedirect. Page 2 attra agriculture, climate change and carbon sequestration change and irrigation and water management, are ways that farmers can address climate change. Recommended management practices to sequester carbon in soils. Remote sensing technologies and big data analytics are powerful tools to assess physical constraints and other parameters that affect crop yields. However, strong income and food consumption impacts surface because of higher food costs after forest carbon sequestration is promoted at a global scale. Employment in agriculture as share of total employment, by. Field crop agriculture and climate change e3149 msu. Soil, carbon and climate change sustainable soils alliance. Soil carbon sequestration impact on global climate change and good security. The study estimated that increased soil carbon sequestration could offset up to 3. Dear colleagues, the 4 per initiative was launched in 2015 as a global initiative to promote the adoption of economically viable and ecologically sound agricultural practices towards carbon sequestration and food security. As well as enhancing food security, carbon sequestration has the potential to offset. Pdf soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate.
Soil carbon sequestration can be estimated from field to global scale using numerical soil ecosystem models. Soil carbon sequestration and global food security. Global hotspots of soil degradation with a high priority for soil restoration and c sequestration include ssa, central and south asia, china, the andean region, the caribbean, and the acid savannas of south america. Complete residue removal for fodder and fuel is a norm in south asia and africa. Winwin strategies for climate and food security 2017 iiasa. Leveraging drought risk reduction for sustainable food. Buildingup soil organic carbon soc enhances soil fertility and efficient use of rainwater, which can increase drought tolerance in. Impacts of droughts on livestock numbers in selected african countries, 1981 to 1999 22 table 3. This article explains the technical potential of c carbon sequestration in world soils for mitigating climate change and describes its positive impacts on agronomic productivity and global food security through the improvement of soil quality. Carbon sequestration conservation in a changing climate. Apr 17, 2010 this article explains the technical potential of c carbon sequestration in world soils for mitigating climate change and describes its positive impacts on agronomic productivity and global food security through the improvement of soil quality. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The carbon sink capacity of the worlds agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 66% of the historic carbon loss of 42 to 78 gigatons of carbon. Climate change and altered landuse are having a great impact on soils.
Of course, a combination of these methods would lead to the greatest benefit. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. As well as enhancing food security, carbon sequestration has the potential to offset fossilfuel emissions by 0. The gaseous composition of our earths atmosphere has changed drastically in recent years. In this chapter, we describe the structure and development of models that have been widely used at international level, from simple models that include carbon only to models that include descriptions of the dynamics of a range of nutrients. In the future, as accounting and offset exchanges develop, soc projects may be viable. Carbon sequestration in soil can significantly contribute to both nordic. Food security under a changing climate world meteorological. Climate change and food security soil carbon sequestration impacts on global. Agriculture, climate change and carbon sequestration pdf. The influence of these factors creates a dynamic feedback between soil and the environment.