Rothamsted Research: Potential of soils to sequester carbon is being seriously overestimated

Some recent studies estimating the potential of farmland to store more carbon through innovative soil management are presenting an overoptimistic picture of what can be achieved and the analyses need to undergo a “reality check”, according to a group of leading researchers. 

In a letter to the journal Global Change Biology, the group pointed out that estimates for the potential magnitude of soil carbon sequestration (SCS) vary dramatically, from very modest to very substantial. Estimates on the high end are “unrealistic” say the team and a more rigorous approach is needed.

“When organic material is added to fields, only about one third of carbon is incorporated into the soil itself in the first year – the rest is decomposed by soil microbes and ends up back in the atmosphere,” said Stephan Haefele, a soil scientist at Rothamsted and one of the letter’s authors. “To achieve a specified soil carbon increase that persists for 30 years its necessary to add about ten times that much. So, you need to add many tons of organic matter per hectare to increase soil carbon by 1 ton per hectare.” 

Read the full article here.