Effect of Agricultural Land-use on Carbon Sequestration in Soils

Author: Shazia Ramzan, Insha Zahoor, Pervez Ahmad , Ifra Ashraf, Mushtaq Ahmad Wani and Rehana Rasool

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Abstract

Carbon sequestration on agricultural lands is possible through a range of soil management strategies and could be substantial with widespread implementation. Sequestration of historic carbon emissions is now essential as mitigation alone is unlikely to stabilize our atmosphere. Land-use change, particularly the conversion of natural forest to agriculture to sustain the growing global population, has severe environmental impacts, including emission of greenhouse gases, diminished biodiversity, and altered soil functions. Contribution of GHGs to global warming is to an extent of 20% due to agricultural activities and 14% due to in land use changes and attendant deforestation. There are numerous management strategies for drawing carbon out of the atmosphere and holding it in the soil. These strategies vary in effectiveness across different climates, soil types, and geographies. There are still debates about the durability of sequestration in soil and about the precise conditions that maxi

Keywords

Carbon sequestration; Land use; soil organic carbon

Conclusion

Since the industrial revolution, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have increased from 290 parts per million (ppm) by volume to greater than 400 ppm and continue to rise and may exceed 500 ppm by 2050 (IPCC, 2001). Currently, human activity is directly or indirectly responsible for the release of six to seven billion metric tons of carbon annually. Adoption of proper and planned measures can help in its mitigation. With proper land-use and management practices, agricultural soils can sequester a good amount of CO2 as SOC. Important land uses and practices with the potential to sequester SOC include conversion of cropland to pastoral and forest lands, conventional tillage to conservation and no tillage, no manure use to regular addition of manure, and to soil specific fertilization rate. Addition of fertilizers on a regular basis for many years often leads to increase in SOC content. Addition of N fertilizer increased the SOC level by increasing net primary productivity and residue i

References

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How to cite this article

Ramzan, Shazia, Zahoor, Insha, Ahmad, Pervez, Ashraf, Ifra, Wani, Mushtaq Ahmad and Rasool Rehana (2019). Effect of Agricultural Land-use on Carbon Sequestration in Soils. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 11(1): 117-125.