ABSTRACT
The potential for sequestering carbon in soils needs to be rapidly assessed, since the current political/economical decisions (Kyoto Protocol, possible trading with “carbon shares,” etc.) need a firm scientific base (Lai et al., 1997). For example, it has been recommended (Kyoto, Dec. 1997) that all nations compare carbon emissions between 1990 and projections for 2010. However, reliable measurements of soil carbon stocks and emissions on a national scale are scarce, and high-precision estimates of, e.g., annual carbon inputs to the soil are even scarcer.
