Soils help to combat and adapt to climate change by playing a key role in the carbon cycle

Soils help to combat and adapt to climate change by playing a key role in the carbon cycle

Year of publication 2015

Pages 4p.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) Healthy soils provide the largest store of terrestrial carbon. When managed sustainably, soils can play an important role in climate change mitigation by storing carbon (carbon sequestration) and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Conversely, if soils are managed poorly or cultivated through unsustainable agricultural practices, soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), which can contribute to climate change. The steady conversion of grassland and forestland to cropland and grazing lands over the past several centuries has resulted in historic losses of soil carbon worldwide. However, by restoring degraded soils and adopting soil conservation practices, there is major potential to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases from agriculture, enhance carbon sequestration and build resilience to climate change.

Language English

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Through short text and infographics this booklet describes how soils constitute the largest store of terrestrial carbon. When managed using Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) techniques, soils can play an important role in climate change adaptation, and mitigation and can enhance the provision of ecosystems services by storing carbon (carbon sequestration) and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
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Soils constitute the largest store of terrestrial carbon. When managed using Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) techniques, soils can play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation and could enhance the provision of ecosystem services by storing carbon (carbon sequestration) and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The poster contributes to the efforts of ending hunger, malnutrition, climate change adaptation, land degradation and overall sustainable developm ent while establishing a connection between Sustainable soil management and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Book (stand-alone)

Global Soil Organic Carbon Database 2017

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The most of the global organic carbon is stored in the forest soil. The large quantity of CO2 emitted from soil is a consequence of land use change, both through human activities (e.g. agriculture) or natural hazards (e.g. flooding, landslides, erosion). A net carbon loss from soils adds to the increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration, probably leading to higher global temperatures. On the other hand, a net soil CO2 sequestration could help to mitigate the greenhouse effect and to improve soil quality. In this purpose, identifying areas suitable for projects aimed to reduce emissions through SOC sequestration, is of the most importance for both developed and developing countries. This report describes the sources and procedures used to develop a global database for SOC content. The FAO approaches and methodologies provided by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, play a crucial role in this process.

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