Kalaivanan, D: Soil Carbon Sequestration

Soil carbon sequestration is a natural, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly process. Once sequestered, carbon remains in the soil as long as restorative land use, continuous no-till, and other Best Management Practices are followed. Soil C sequestration is a strategy to mitigate global warming through reducing the rate of enrichment of atmospheric concentration of CO2 and achieves food security through improvement in soil quality. It has the potential to offset fossil-fuel emissions by 0.4 to 1.2 Gt C/year, or 5 to 15% of the global emissions. Soil organic carbon is an extremely valuable natural resource. Irrespective of the climate debate, the SOC stock must be restored, enhanced, and improved.Yet, the close link between soil C Sequestration and world food security on the one hand and climate change on the other can neither be overemphasized nor ignored.The potential of SOC sequestration is finite. Therefore, it is only a short-term solution. The long-term solution lies in developing alternatives to fossil fuel. Yet, SOC sequestration buys us time during which alternatives to fossil fuel can take effect. It is a bridge to the future.