Carbon storage in soils
Item
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Creator
Isabelle Basile-Doelsch
Tiphaine Chevallier
Marie-France Dignac
Amandine Erktan
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Subject
Agroecology
Carbon dynamics
Carbon stock
Carbon storage
Climate change mitigation
Cropland
Food security
Forest
Grassland
Land use
Management practices
Organic matter
Soil
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Abstract
Soils are a pivotal component in the global carbon cycle, while carbon storage in soils is a natural phenomenon involving organic carbon. Maintaining or increasing soil carbon levels is beneficial for many ecosystem services. Soil carbon is also a soil condition indicator and a key focus of several Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter describes the forms of carbon in soils, the quantification of carbon stocks and storage, the processes underlying the heterogeneous distribution of carbon stocks across the planet and their dynamics, land-use changes and practices that affect soil carbon stocks, as well as the socioeconomic benefits of soil carbon storage.
