PNNL

Abstract

Soils account for the largest fraction of terrestrial carbon (C) and thus are critically important in determining global cycle dynamics. In North America, conversion of native prairies to agriculture over the past 150 years released 30- 50% of soil organic carbon (SOC) stores [Mann, 1986]. Improved agricultural practices could recover much of this SOC, storing it in biomass and soil and thereby sequestering billions of tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). These practices involve increasing C inputs to soil (e.g., through crop rotation, higher biomass crops, and perennial crops) and decreasing losses (e.g., through reduced tillage intensity) [Janzen et al., 1998; Lal et al., 2003; Smith et al., 2007].