ABSTRACT
Strategies such as capturing and storing the carbon emissions from biofuel-burning power plants, or planting new forests to absorb carbon, can create their own problems. If used on a scale large enough to be effective, they would require too much land, water, or energy, or are too expensive. Sequestering carbon in soil, however, is a relatively natural way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with fewer impacts on land and water, less need for energy, and lower costs. Better land management and agricultural practices could enhance the ability of soils to store carbon and help combat global warming. In the present chapter, we focus on how soil can mitigate climate change (i.e. carbon sequestration) and then we discuss the major soil management practices that can enhance carbon storage in the soils.
