Carbon sequestration is the result of a series of processes through which carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed from biogeochemical circulation and accumulated in soil and biomass. The present article emphasizes the soil‐dependent factors that have bearing on the effectiveness of C sequestration regardless of the general climatic constraints.
In a first stage, atmospheric carbon is incorporated by photosynthetic plants, which synthesize complex biomacromolecules. When organic remains in addition to microbial bodies decay in soil, a portion of the C stabilizes into the soil (soil C sequestration or humification), the remainder being released mainly as CO 2 and H 2O (mineralization). In environmental situations where the above balance shifts to humification, a progressive increase in soil C concentration will be produced through time. This contributes to alleviating the greenhouse effect, global warming and hence climatic change (Batjes, 1998).
Rough estimations point to the fact...
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Chesworth, W. et al. (2008). Carbon Sequestration in Soil. In: Chesworth, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3995-9_89
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3995-9_89
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