Soil Carbon Sequestration through Agronomic Management Practices

Improper soil and crop management practices have resulted in loss of soil carbon. Worldwide, about 1417 Pg of soil carbon is stored in first meter soil depth, while 456-Pg soil carbon is stored in above-below ground vegetation and dead organic matter. Healthy soils can be helpful in combating the climate change because soils having high organic matter can have higher CO2 sequestration potential. Main agronomic practices responsible for soil carbon loss include improper tillage operations, crop rotations, residue management, fertilization, and similarly no or less use of organic fertilizers that have resulted in the loss of soil organic matter in the form of CO2. The share of agriculture sector in the entire emissions of global GHGs in the form of CO2, N2O, and CH4 is about 25-30%. Studies have shown that by adapting proper tillage operations, the use of such kind of crop rotations that can improve soil organic matter and similarly the application of organic fertilizers, i.e., FYM, compost, and other organic amendments such as humic acid, vermicompost, etc., can be useful in soil carbon sequestration.