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Updated: Jul 21, 2026
07:32
Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.
Published on: June 4, 2021
Managing for soil carbon sequestration: Let's get realistic
William H Schlesinger1, Ronald Amundson2
1Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York.
Global Change Biology
|November 29, 2018
Summary
Enhanced soil management can improve food security and store soil carbon. However, promising methods like biochar and silicate weathering likely won't offset more than 5% of annual CO2 emissions.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Soil Science
- Climate Science
Background:
- Growing global population necessitates improved soil management for food security.
- Soil carbon sequestration is a key strategy for climate change mitigation.
- Enhanced soil management practices offer potential for carbon storage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the potential of enhanced soil management techniques for climate change mitigation.
- To assess the contribution of soil organic matter increments to carbon balance.
- To quantify the climate change mitigation potential of biochar and enhanced silicate weathering.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing data on soil carbon sequestration.
- Analysis of the efficacy of biochar application in soils.
- Evaluation of enhanced silicate weathering as a carbon sequestration strategy.
Main Results:
- While soil organic matter increments are beneficial, their climate change mitigation potential is often overestimated.
- Biochar and enhanced silicate weathering are promising but limited in their capacity.
- These methods collectively may offset only a small fraction (around 5%) of annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced soil management plays a role in food security and offers some climate benefits.
- The potential for significant climate change mitigation through these specific soil-based strategies is modest.
- Focus should remain on reducing fossil fuel emissions alongside soil management efforts.
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