Earth's soil may be part of the climate change solution. Scientists found that dirt could be a huge part of storing carbon in order to mitigate climate change.
Currently, governments are looking to soil as part of the solution to curbing climate change. Widespread changes to agricultural practices could, in theory, help lock away carbon emissions. However, it's still not certain whether agricultural practices will change in order to help with this trend.
Soil is an effective carbon sink. It's pulled from the air into plants or crops, which then release it into the soil through their roots. Encouraging soil to do this through different farming practices has the potential to offset an amazing 5 to 15 percent of current global fossil-fuel emissions.
Using soil as a carbon sink isn't a new idea. However, it hasn't gained much traction until now. However, partially due to the climate agreement achieved in Paris last year, individuals are now looking at different ways to help lower emissions - and carbon storage in soils is one of these ways.
The climate change agreement involves an initiative that aims to boost the amount of carbon in soils globally by 0.4 percent per year. The United States itself, while not part of this agreement, plans to use both agricultural and forestry practices to put away more than 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025.
With that said, the main driver will be agricultural practices. This means that it's uncertain whether private farms will change their practices in order to help store more carbon on their land.
Some farms have actually begun to use strategies to enhance organic matter in their soils. This actually helps boost carbon content in the soils. Measures to help with sequestration include planting cover crops and no-till farming. While these techniques are good to help with sequestration, they also have direct benefits for farmers as they prevent soil from getting soggy and reduce runoff. In addition, the methods may also make crops more resilient to drought.
The findings are important when it comes to helping curtail climate change. With that said, much more needs to be done in order to make these goals a reality.
The findings were published in the April edition of the journal Chemical & Engineering News.
