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Scientists: Paris Climate Agreement Soil Sequestration Unrealistic
USAgNet - 04/25/2017

The goal to offset rises in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations by increasing soil carbon storage by 4 per mille (0.4%) per year is unrealistic, say scientists from The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and the United States in an opinion piece in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

The plans to store more carbon in the soil were launched at the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in Paris. The soils of the world contain approximately three times the amount of carbon in organic matter as currently held in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Increasing this soil organic matter stock at a rate of 4 per mille per year could, in theory, fully compensate the rise in atmospheric CO2. Such an increase could come about by changes in land management, or by using different crop rotations.

"Building soil organic matter is a good idea, so the 4 per mille goal is on the right track," said Bruce Hungate, director of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University and co-author on the paper. "More soil carbon slows climate change and improves soil fertility."

Storing additional carbon in the soil, notes Hungate, requires other nutrients, like nitrogen.

More broadly, the authors urge caution about expecting a single solution to slowing climate change, according to Hungate.

"Soil management can contribute to climate change mitigation, but to expect a sole solution in soil is unrealistic and misguided. We need to focus on reducing emissions across all sectors of the economy."

The opinion piece was written with colleagues from the Wageningen University, University of California at Davis, Northern Arizona University (USA) and Rothamsted Research.


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