Agriculture Soil Lost 30–75% of Its Underlying Organic Carbon Pool: ICAR

According to a paper published by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), the results of a current technical review have revealed that agricultural soils have lost about 30-75 per cent of their inherent soil organic carbon (SOC) pool, which is 'quite alarming.'

Carbon sequestration is increasingly being recognized by experts as one of the critical strategies for addressing the difficult issues of climate change effects, as well as imparting sustainability to productivity. 

Increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are repeated in agricultural land use systems due to frequent cultivation of croplands, crop residues, biomass burning, shifting cultivation, cultivation of low biomass producing crop cultivars, land degradation, and deforestation.

"A combination of good crop production practices supported by resource conservation measures, agro-forestry, forest and grassland management will be useful in enhancing carbon sequestration and its long-term stability and sustainability," according to the paper.

"Adoption of some suggested management practices, such as conservation tillage, cover crops, intercropping, residue retention, organic manure inclusion in nutrient management, adequate irrigation, erosion control measures, multi-tier cropping, agro-forestry systems, crop and tree biomass recycling, may permit stable assimilation of soil organic carbon for a long period," the paper suggests.

In its most recent report, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global net man-made carbon dioxide emissions would need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels, with the goal of reaching 'net zero' by 2050.

The paper emphasizes that 'Agricultural land use, which involves the cultivation of soil, may alter the total quantity of soil organic matter and its protecting processes.' "If there is an excess of carbon, carbon will be lost as quickly as it is added," the paper warns.

Carbon sequestration is increasingly being viewed by experts as one of the critical strategies for addressing the difficult issue of climate change, in addition to imparting sustainability to productivity. It has the potential to reduce environmental degradation while also addressing food security.