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Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil, crop roots, wood and leaves. The technical term for this is carbon sequestration. The overall goal of carbon farming is to create a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere.^[1] This is done by increasing the rate at which carbon is sequestered into soil and plant material. One option is to increase the soil's organic matter content. This can also aid plant growth, improve soil water retention capacity^[2] and reduce fertilizer use.^[3] Sustainable forest management is another tool that is used in carbon farming.^[4] Carbon farming is one component of climate-smart agriculture. It is also one way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Agricultural methods for carbon farming include adjusting how tillage and livestock grazing is done, using organic mulch or compost, working with biochar and terra preta, and changing the crop types. Methods used in forestry include reforestation and bamboo farming.

Carbon farming methods might have additional costs. Some countries have government policies that give financial incentives to farmers to use carbon farming methods.^[5] As of 2016, variants of carbon farming reached hundreds of millions of hectares globally, of the nearly 5 billion hectares (1.2×10¹⁰ acres) of world farmland.^[6] Carbon farming has some disadvantages because some of its methods can affect ecosystem services. For example, carbon farming could cause an increase of land clearing, monocultures and biodiversity loss.^[7] It is important to maximize environmental benefits of carbon farming by keeping in mind ecosystem services at the same time.^[7]

Aims

The overall aim of carbon farming is to store carbon in the soil, crop roots, wood and leaves. It is one of several methods for carbon sequestration. It can be achieved by modification of agricultural practices because soil can act as an effective carbon sink and thus offset carbon dioxide emissions.^[8]

Agricultural sequestration practices may have positive effects on soil, air, and water quality, be beneficial to wildlife, and expand food production. On degraded croplands, an increase of one ton of soil carbon pool may increase crop yield by 20 to 40 kilograms per hectare of wheat, 10 to 20 kg/ha for maize, and 0.5 to 1 kg/ha for cowpeas.^[9]

Mechanism

Compared to natural vegetation, cropland soils are depleted in soil organic carbon (SOC). When a soil is converted from natural land or semi natural land, such as forests, woodlands, grasslands, steppes and savannas, the SOC content in the soil reduces by about 30–40%.^[10] The loss of carbon through agricultural practices can eventually lead to the loss of soil suitable for agriculture.^[11] The carbon loss from the soil is due to the removal of plant material containing carbon, via harvesting. When land use changes, soil carbon either increases or decreases. This change continues until the soil reaches a new equilibrium. Deviations from this equilibrium can also be affected by varying climate.^[12] The decrease can be counteracted by increasing carbon input. This can be done via several strategies, e.g. leaving harvest residues on the field, using manure or rotating perennial crops.^[13] Perennial crops have a larger below ground biomass fraction, which increases the SOC content.^[10] Globally, soils are estimated to contain >8,580 gigatons of organic carbon, about ten times the amount in the atmosphere and much more than in vegetation.^[14]

In part, soil carbon is thought to accumulate when decaying organic matter was physically mixed with soil.^[15] Small roots die and decay while the plant is alive, depositing carbon below the surface.^[16] More recently, the role of living plants has been emphasized where carbon is released as plants grow.^[17] Soils can contain up to 5% carbon by weight, including decomposing plant and animal matter and biochar.

About half of soil carbon is found within deep soils.^[18] About 90% of this is stabilized by mineral–organic associations.^[19]

Scale

Carbon farming can offset as much as 20% of 2010 carbon dioxide emissions annually.^[8] As of 2016, variants of carbon farming reached hundreds of millions of hectares globally, of the nearly 5 billion hectares (1.2×10¹⁰ acres) of world farmland.^[6]

However, the effects of soil sequestration can be reversed. If the soil is disrupted or intensive tillage practices are used, the soil becomes a net source of greenhouse gases. Typically after several decades of sequestration, the soil becomes saturated and ceases to absorb carbon. This implies that there is a global limit to the amount of carbon that soil can hold.^[20]

Methods used in agriculture

All crops absorb CO
₂ during growth and release it after harvest. The goal of agricultural carbon removal is to use the crop and its relation to the carbon cycle to permanently sequester carbon within the soil. This is done by selecting farming methods that return biomass to the soil and enhance the conditions in which the carbon within the plants will be reduced to its elemental nature and stored in a stable state. Methods for accomplishing this include:

Use cover crops such as grasses and weeds as a temporary cover between planting seasons
Concentrate livestock in small paddocks for days at a time so they graze lightly but evenly. This encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil. Stock also till the soil with their hooves, grinding old grass and manures into the soil.^[21]
Cover bare paddocks with hay or dead vegetation. This protects soil from the sun and allows the soil to hold more water and be more attractive to carbon-capturing microbes.^[21]
Restore degraded, marginal, and abandoned land, which slows carbon release while returning the land to agriculture or other use.^[22] Degraded land with low soil carbon pool has particularly high potential to store soil carbon, which can be farther enhanced by proper selection of vegetation.^[23]^[24]

Adjusting livestock grazing

Livestock, like all animals, are net producers of carbon. Ruminants like cows and sheep produce not only CO₂, but also methane due to the microbes residing in their digestive system. A small amount of carbon may be sequestered in grassland soils through root exudates and manure. By regularly rotating the herd through multiple paddocks (as often as daily) the paddocks can rest/recover between grazing periods. This pattern produces stable grasslands with significant fodder.^[25] Annual grasses have shallower roots and die once they are grazed. Rotational grazing leads to the replacement of annuals by perennials with deeper roots, which can recover after grazing. By contrast, allowing animals to range over a large area for an extended period can destroy the grassland.^[26]

Silvopasture involves grazing livestock under tree cover, with trees separated enough to allow adequate sunlight to nourish the grass.^[25] For example, a farm in Mexico planted native trees on a paddock spanning 22 hectares (54 acres). This evolved into a successful organic dairy. The operation became a subsistence farm, earning income from consulting/training others rather than from crop production.^[27]

Adjusting tillage

Carbon farming minimizes disruption to soils over the planting/growing/harvest cycle. Tillage is avoided using seed drills or similar techniques.^[28] Livestock can trample and/or eat the remains of a harvested field.^[25] The reduction or complete halt of tilling will create an increase in the soil carbon concentrations of topsoil.^[11] Plowing splits soil aggregates and allows microorganisms to consume their organic compounds. The increased microbial activity releases nutrients, initially boosting yield. Thereafter the loss of structure reduces soil's ability to hold water and resist erosion, thereby reducing yield.^[6]

Using organic mulch and compost

Mulching covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw. Alternatively, crop residue can be left in place to enter the soil as it decomposes.^[25]

Compost sequesters carbon in a stable (not easily accessed) form. Carbon farmers spread it over the soil surface without tilling.^[25] A 2013 study found that a single compost application significantly and durably increased grassland carbon storage by 25–70%. The continuation sequestration likely came from increased water-holding and "fertilization" by compost decomposition. Both factors support increased productivity. Both tested sites showed large increases in grassland productivity: a forage increase of 78% in a drier valley site, while a wetter coastal site averaged an increase of 42%. CH
₄ and N
₂O and emissions did not increase significantly. Methane fluxes were negligible. Soil N
₂O emissions from temperate grasslands amended with chemical fertilizers and manures were orders of magnitude higher.^[29] Another study found that grasslands treated with .5" of commercial compost began absorbing carbon at an annual rate of nearly 1.5 tons/acre and continued to do so in subsequent years. As of 2018, this study had not been replicated.^[26]

Working with biochar and terra preta

Mixing anaerobically burned biochar into soil sequesters approximately 50% of the carbon in the biomass. Globally up to 12% of the anthropogenic carbon emissions from land use change (0.21 gigatonnes) can be off-set annually in soil, if slash-and-burn is replaced by slash-and-char. Agriculture and forestry wastes could add some 0.16 gigatonnes/year. Biofuel production using modern biomass can produce a bio-char by-product through pyrolysis sequestering 30.6 kg for each gigajoule of energy produced. Soil-sequestered carbon is easily and verifiably measured.^[30]

Adjusting crop type

Cover crops are fast-growing species planted to protect soils from wind and water erosion during the off-growing season. The cover crop may be incorporated into the soil to increase soil organic matter. Legume cover crops can also produce a small amount of nitrogen. The carbon content of a soil should not be increased without also ensuring that the relative amount of nitrogen also increases to maintain a healthy soil ecosystem.

Perennial crops offer potential to sequester carbon when grown in multilayered systems. One system uses perennial staple crops that grow on trees that are analogs to maize and beans, or vines, palms and herbaceous perennials.^[31]

Methods used in forestry

Reforestation

Forestry and agriculture are both land-based human activities that add up to contribute approximately a third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.^[32] There is a large interest in reforestation, but in regards to carbon farming most of that reforestation opportunity will be in small patches with trees being planted by individual land owners in exchange for benefits provided by carbon farming programs.^[33] Forestry in carbon farming can be both reforestation, which is restoring forests to areas that were deforested, and afforestation which would be planting forests in areas that were not historically forested.^[4] Not all forests will sequester the same amount of carbon. Carbon sequestration is dependent on several factors which can include forest age, forest type, amount of biodiversity, the management practices the forest is experiences and climate.^[34]^[35] Biodiversity is often thought to be a side benefit of carbon farming, but in forest ecosystems increased biodiversity can increase the rate of carbon sequestration and can be a tool in carbon farming and not just a side benefit.^[35]

Bamboo farming

A bamboo forest will store less total carbon than most types of mature forest. However, it can store a similar total amount of carbon as rubber plantations and tree orchards, and can surpass the total carbon stored in agroforests, palm oil plantations, grasslands and shrublands.^[36] A bamboo plantation sequesters carbon at a faster rate than a mature forest or a tree plantation.^[37] However it has been found that only new plantations or plantations with active management will be sequestering carbon at a faster rate than mature forests.^[38] Compared with other fast-growing tree species, bamboo is only superior in its ability to sequester carbon if selectively harvested.^[39] Bamboo forests are especially high in potential for carbon sequestration if the cultivated plant material is turned into durable products that keep the carbon in the plant material for a long period because bamboo is both fast growing and regrows strongly following an annual harvest.^[36]^[40]

While bamboo has the ability to store carbon as biomass in cultivated material, more than half of the carbon sequestration from bamboo will be stored as carbon in the soil.^[40] Carbon that is sequestered into the soil by bamboo is stored by the rhizomes and roots which is biomass that will remain in the soil after plant material above the soil is harvested and stored long-term.^[37] Bamboo can be planted in sub-optimal land unsuitable for cultivating other crops and the benefits would include not only carbon sequestration but improving the quality of the land for future crops and reducing the amount of land subject to deforestation.^[37] The use of carbon emission trading is also available to farmers who use bamboo to gain carbon credit in otherwise uncultivated land.^[37] Therefore, the farming of bamboo timber may have significant carbon sequestration potential.^[41]^[42]^[43]

Costs and financial incentives

Many factors affect the costs of carbon sequestration including soil quality, transaction costs and various externalities such as leakage and unforeseen environmental damage. Because reduction of atmospheric CO
₂ is a long-term concern, farmers can be reluctant to adopt more expensive agricultural techniques when there is not a clear crop, soil, or economic benefit.

Carbon farming methods might have additional costs. Individual land owners are sometimes given incentives to use carbon farming methods through government policies.^[5] Governments in Australia and New Zealand are considering allowing farmers to sell carbon credits once they document that they have sufficiently increased soil carbon content.^[21]^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]^[48]

Approved practices may make farmers eligible for federal funds. Not all carbon farming techniques have been recommended.^[26]

Challenges

Carbon farming is not without its challenges or disadvantages. When ecosystem restoration is used as a form of carbon farming, there can be a lack of knowledge that is disadvantageous in project planning.^[7] Ecosystem services are often a side benefit of restoring ecosystems along with carbon farming, but often ecosystem services are ignored in project planning because, unlike carbon sequestration, is not a global commodity that can be traded.^[7] If and how carbon farming's additional sequestration methods can affect ecosystem services should be researched to determine how different methods and strategies will impact the value an ecosystem service in particular areas.^[7] One concern to note is that if policy and incentives are only aimed towards carbon sequestration, then carbon farming could actually be harmful to ecosystems.^[7] Carbon farming could inadvertently cause an increase of land clearing and monocultures when species diversity is not a goal of the landscapes project, so there should be attempts to balance the goals of carbon farming and biodiversity should be attempted.^[7]

Critics say that the related regenerative agriculture cannot be adopted enough to matter or that it could lower commodity prices. The impact of increased soil carbon on yield has yet to be settled.^{[citation needed]}

Another criticism says that no-till practices may increase herbicide use, diminishing or eliminating carbon benefits.^[26]

Composting is not an NRCS-approved technique and its impacts on native species and greenhouse emissions during production have not been fully resolved. Further, commercial compost supplies are too limited to cover large amounts of land.^[26]

Carbon farming may consider related issues such as groundwater and surface water degradation.^[2]

Related concepts

Climate-smart agriculture

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) (or climate resilient agriculture) is a set of farming methods that has three main objectives with regards to climate change.^[49]^[50] Firstly, they use adaptation methods to respond to the effects of climate change on agriculture (this also builds resilience to climate change). Secondly, they aim to increase agricultural productivity and to ensure food security for a growing world population. Thirdly, they try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture as much as possible (for example by following carbon farming approaches). Climate-smart agriculture works as an integrated approach to managing land. This approach helps farmers to adapt their agricultural methods (for raising livestock and crops) to the effects of climate change.^[50]

Blue carbon

Blue carbon is a concept within climate change mitigation that refers to "biologically driven carbon fluxes and storage in marine systems that are amenable to management".^[51]^: 2220 Most commonly, it refers to the role that tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows can play in carbon sequestration.^[51]^: 2220 These ecosystems can play an important role for climate change mitigation and ecosystem-based adaptation. However, when blue carbon ecosystems are degraded or lost, they release carbon back to the atmosphere, thereby adding to greenhouse gas emissions.^[51]^: 2220

By country or region

Australia

In 2011 Australia started a cap-and-trade program. Farmers who sequester carbon can sell carbon credits to companies in need of carbon offsets.^[25] The country's Direct Action Plan states "The single largest opportunity for CO
₂ emissions reduction in Australia is through bio-sequestration in general, and in particular, the replenishment of our soil carbons." In studies of test plots over 20 years showed increased microbial activity when farmers incorporated organic matter or reduced tillage. Soil carbon levels from 1990 to 2006 declined by 30% on average under continuous cropping. Incorporating organic matter alone was not enough to build soil carbon. Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur had to be added as well to do so.^[43]

France

The largest international effort to promote carbon farming is "four per 1,000", led by France. Its goal is to increase soil carbon by 0.4% per year through agricultural and forestry changes.^[26]

North America

By 2014 more than 75% of Canadian Prairies' cropland had adopted "conservation tillage" and more than 50% had adopted no-till.^[52] Twenty-five countries pledged to adopt the practice at the December 2015 Paris climate talks.^[25] In California multiple Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) support local partnerships to develop and implement carbon farming,^[2] In 2015 the agency that administers California's carbon-credit exchange began granting credits to farmers who compost grazing lands.^[25] In 2016 Chevrolet partnered with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase 40,000 carbon credits from ranchers on 11,000 no-till acres. The transaction equates to removing 5,000 cars from the road and was the largest to date in the US.^[25] In 2017 multiple US states passed legislation in support of carbon farming and soil health.^[53]

California appropriated $7.5 million as part of its Healthy Soils Program. The objective is to demonstrate that "specific management practices sequester carbon, improve soil health and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases." The program includes mulching, cover crops, composting, hedgerows and buffer strips.^[53] Nearly half of California counties have farmers who are working on carbon-farming.^[26]
Maryland's Healthy Soils Program supports research, education and technical assistance.^[53]
Massachusetts funds education and training to support agriculture that regenerates soil health.^[53]
Hawaii created the Carbon Farming Task Force to develop incentives to increase soil carbon content.^[53] A 250-acre demonstration project attempted to produce biofuels from the pongamia tree. Pongamia adds nitrogen to the soil. Similarly, one ranch husbands 2,000 head of cattle on 4,000 acres, using rotational grazing to build soil, store carbon, restore hydrologic function and reduce runoff.^[54]

Other states are considering similar programs.^[53]

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^ ^a ^b SongXinzhang; ZhouGuomo; JiangHong; YuShuquan; FuJinhe; LiWeizhong; WangWeifeng; MaZhihai; PengChanghui (2011-10-25). "Carbon sequestration by Chinese bamboo forests and their ecological benefits: assessment of potential, problems, and future challenges". Environmental Reviews. 19: 418–428. doi:10.1139/a11-015.
^ "Bamboo". 2017-02-08. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
^ Viswanath, Syam; Subbanna, Sruthi (2017-10-12), Carbon sequestration potential in bamboos, retrieved 2020-02-04
^ ^a ^b Chan, Gabrielle (2013-10-29). "Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
^ Smith, Pete; Martino, Daniel; Cai, Zucong; et al. (February 2008). "Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 363 (1492): 789–813. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2184. PMC 2610110. PMID 17827109..
^ "Environmental Co Benefits of Sequestration Practices. 2006. June 1, 2009". Archived from the original on May 11, 2009.
^ Lal, R. (June 11, 2004). "Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security". Science. 304 (5677): 1623–1627. Bibcode:2004Sci...304.1623L. doi:10.1126/science.1097396. PMID 15192216. S2CID 8574723.
^ "Addressing Reversibility (Duration) for Projects". US Environmental Protection Agency. 2006. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
^ Renwick, A.; Ball, A.; Pretty, J.N. (August 2002). "Biological and Policy Constraints on the Adoption of Carbon Farming in Temperate Regions". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 360 (1797): 1721–40. Bibcode:2002RSPTA.360.1721R. doi:10.1098/rsta.2002.1028. PMID 12460494. S2CID 41627741. pp. 1722, 1726–29.
^ "Climate-Smart Agriculture". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
^ ^a ^b "Climate-Smart Agriculture". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
^ ^a ^b ^c IPCC, 2021: Annex VII: Glossary [Matthews, J. B. R., V. Möller, R. van Diemen, J. S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, A. Reisinger (eds.)]. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S. L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M. I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J. B. R. Matthews, T. K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2215–2256, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.022.
^ Awada, L.; Lindwall, C.W.; Sonntag, B. (March 2014). "The development and adoption of conservation tillage systems on the Canadian Prairies". International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2 (1): 47–65. Bibcode:2014ISWCR...2...47A. doi:10.1016/s2095-6339(15)30013-7. ISSN 2095-6339.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "6 States Tapping Into the Benefits of Carbon Farming". EcoWatch. Center For Food Safety. 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
^ Swaffer, Miriam (2017-07-11). "Turning dirt into climate goals via carbon farming". GreenBiz. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

External links

"Marin Carbon Project". www.marincarbonproject.org. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

[1] Nath, Arun Jyoti; Lal, Rattan; Das, Ashesh Kumar (2015-01-01). "Managing woody bamboos for carbon farming and carbon trading". Global Ecology and Conservation. 3: 654–663. Bibcode:2015GEcoC...3..654N. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2015.03.002. ISSN 2351-9894.

[CCI-2021-2] "Carbon Farming | Carbon Cycle Institute". www.carboncycle.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

[3] Almaraz, Maya; Wong, Michelle Y.; Geoghegan, Emily K.; Houlton, Benjamin Z. (2021). "A review of carbon farming impacts on nitrogen cycling, retention, and loss". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1505 (1): 102–117. Bibcode:2021NYASA1505..102A. doi:10.1111/nyas.14690. ISSN 0077-8923. PMID 34580879. S2CID 238202676.

[Jindal-2008-4] Jindal, Rohit; Swallow, Brent; Kerr, John (2008). "Forestry-based carbon sequestration projects in Africa: Potential benefits and challenges". Natural Resources Forum. 32 (2): 116–130. doi:10.1111/j.1477-8947.2008.00176.x. ISSN 1477-8947.

[Tang-2016-5] Tang, Kai; Kragt, Marit E.; Hailu, Atakelty; Ma, Chunbo (2016-05-01). "Carbon farming economics: What have we learned?". Journal of Environmental Management. 172: 49–57. Bibcode:2016JEnvM.172...49T. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.02.008. ISSN 0301-4797. PMID 26921565.

[Burton-2018-6] Burton, David. "How carbon farming can help solve climate change". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

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[9] Lal, R. (2004-06-11). "Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security". Science. 304 (5677): 1623–1627. Bibcode:2004Sci...304.1623L. doi:10.1126/science.1097396. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 15192216. S2CID 8574723. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.

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[22] Bell, Stephen M.; Barriocanal, Carles; Terrer, César; Rosell-Melé, Antoni (2020-06-01). "Management opportunities for soil carbon sequestration following agricultural land abandonment". Environmental Science & Policy. 108: 104–111. Bibcode:2020ESPol.108..104B. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2020.03.018. ISSN 1462-9011. S2CID 218795674.

[23] Vindušková, Olga; Frouz, Jan (2013-07-01). "Soil carbon accumulation after open-cast coal and oil shale mining in Northern Hemisphere: a quantitative review". Environmental Earth Sciences. 69 (5): 1685–1698. Bibcode:2013EES....69.1685V. doi:10.1007/s12665-012-2004-5. ISSN 1866-6299. S2CID 129185046.

[24] Frouz, Jan; Livečková, Miluše; Albrechtová, Jana; Chroňáková, Alica; Cajthaml, Tomáš; Pižl, Václav; Háněl, Ladislav; Starý, Josef; Baldrian, Petr; Lhotáková, Zuzana; Šimáčková, Hana; Cepáková, Šárka (2013-12-01). "Is the effect of trees on soil properties mediated by soil fauna? A case study from post-mining sites". Forest Ecology and Management. 309: 87–95. Bibcode:2013ForEM.309...87F. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.02.013. ISSN 0378-1127.

[Barth-2016-25] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Carbon Farming: Hope for a Hot Planet – Modern Farmer". Modern Farmer. 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2018-04-25.

[Velasquez-Manoff-2018-26] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Velasquez-Manoff, Moises (2018-04-18). "Can Dirt Save the Earth?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-28.

[CCS-2018-27] "Excerpt | The Carbon Farming Solution". carbonfarmingsolution.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

[28] Krishna, Vijesh V.; Veettil, Prakashan C. (2014-05-01). "Productivity and efficiency impacts of conservation tillage in northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains". Agricultural Systems. 127: 126–138. Bibcode:2014AgSys.127..126K. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2014.02.004. ISSN 0308-521X.

[29] RYALS, REBECCA; SILVER, WHENDEE L. (2013). "Effects of Organic Matter Amendments on Net Primary Productivity" (PDF). Ecological Applications. 23 (1): 46–59. doi:10.1890/12-0620.1. PMID 23495635. S2CID 6768979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2018-04-28.

[Lehmann-2006-30] Lehmann, Johannes; Gaunt, John; Rondon, Marco (2006-03-01). "Bio-char Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems – A Review". Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 11 (2): 403–427. Bibcode:2006MASGC..11..403L. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.183.1147. doi:10.1007/s11027-005-9006-5. ISSN 1381-2386. S2CID 4696862.

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[32] Golub, Alla; Hertel, Thomas; Lee, Huey-Lin; Rose, Steven; Sohngen, Brent (2009-11-01). "The opportunity cost of land use and the global potential for greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture and forestry". Resource and Energy Economics. 31 (4): 299–319. Bibcode:2009REEco..31..299G. doi:10.1016/j.reseneeco.2009.04.007. ISSN 0928-7655.

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[Díaz-2009-35] Díaz, Sandra; Hector, Andy; Wardle, David A. (2009-10-01). "Biodiversity in forest carbon sequestration initiatives: not just a side benefit". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 1 (1): 55–60. Bibcode:2009COES....1...55D. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2009.08.001. hdl:11336/20742. ISSN 1877-3435.

[Yuen-2017-36] Yuen, Jia Qi; Fung, Tak; Ziegler, Alan D. (2017-06-01). "Carbon stocks in bamboo ecosystems worldwide: Estimates and uncertainties". Forest Ecology and Management. 393: 113–138. Bibcode:2017ForEM.393..113Y. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.01.017. ISSN 0378-1127.

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[38] Yiping, L., Yanxia, L., Buckingham, K., Henley, G., & Guomo, Z. (2010). Bamboo and Climate Change Mitigation: a comparative analysis of carbon sequestration. International Network Bamboo and Rattan.

[39] Kuehl, Y.; Li, Y.; Henley, G. (2013-03-01). "Impacts of selective harvest on the carbon sequestration potential in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) plantations". Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 22 (1): 1–18. Bibcode:2013ForTL..22....1K. doi:10.1080/14728028.2013.773652. ISSN 1472-8028. S2CID 128417104.

[Song-2011-40] SongXinzhang; ZhouGuomo; JiangHong; YuShuquan; FuJinhe; LiWeizhong; WangWeifeng; MaZhihai; PengChanghui (2011-10-25). "Carbon sequestration by Chinese bamboo forests and their ecological benefits: assessment of potential, problems, and future challenges". Environmental Reviews. 19: 418–428. doi:10.1139/a11-015.

[41] "Bamboo". 2017-02-08. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2019-11-21.

[42] Viswanath, Syam; Subbanna, Sruthi (2017-10-12), Carbon sequestration potential in bamboos, retrieved 2020-02-04

[Chan-2013-43] Chan, Gabrielle (2013-10-29). "Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

[44] Smith, Pete; Martino, Daniel; Cai, Zucong; et al. (February 2008). "Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 363 (1492): 789–813. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2184. PMC 2610110. PMID 17827109..

[45] "Environmental Co Benefits of Sequestration Practices. 2006. June 1, 2009". Archived from the original on May 11, 2009.

[46] Lal, R. (June 11, 2004). "Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security". Science. 304 (5677): 1623–1627. Bibcode:2004Sci...304.1623L. doi:10.1126/science.1097396. PMID 15192216. S2CID 8574723.

[47] "Addressing Reversibility (Duration) for Projects". US Environmental Protection Agency. 2006. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.

[48] Renwick, A.; Ball, A.; Pretty, J.N. (August 2002). "Biological and Policy Constraints on the Adoption of Carbon Farming in Temperate Regions". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 360 (1797): 1721–40. Bibcode:2002RSPTA.360.1721R. doi:10.1098/rsta.2002.1028. PMID 12460494. S2CID 41627741. pp. 1722, 1726–29.

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[Climate-smart_agriculture_:2-50] "Climate-Smart Agriculture". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-07-26.

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[52] Awada, L.; Lindwall, C.W.; Sonntag, B. (March 2014). "The development and adoption of conservation tillage systems on the Canadian Prairies". International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2 (1): 47–65. Bibcode:2014ISWCR...2...47A. doi:10.1016/s2095-6339(15)30013-7. ISSN 2095-6339.

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+{{Short description|Agricultural methods that capture carbon}}
-'''Carbon farming''' is a name for a variety of agricultural methods aimed at [[Carbon sequestration|sequestering atmospheric carbon]] into the [[soil]] and in crop roots, wood and leaves. Increasing soil's carbon content can aid plant growth, increase [[soil organic matter]] (improving agricultural yield), improve soil water retention capacity<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.carboncycle.org/carbon-farming/|title=Carbon Farming {{!}} Carbon Cycle Institute|website=www.carboncycle.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> and reduce fertilizer use<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://modernfarmer.com/2016/03/carbon-farming/|title=Carbon Farming: Hope for a Hot Planet – Modern Farmer|date=2016-03-25|work=Modern Farmer|access-date=2018-04-25|language=en-US}}</ref> (and the accompanying emissions of greenhouse gas [[nitrous oxide]] ({{Chem|N|2|O}}).<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/magazine/dirt-save-earth-carbon-farming-climate-change.html|title=Can Dirt Save the Earth?|last=Velasquez-Manoff|first=Moises|date=2018-04-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As of 2016, variants of carbon farming reached hundreds of millions of hectares globally, of the nearly {{Convert|5|e9ha}} of world farmland.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://carbonfarmingsolution.com/excerpt|title=Excerpt {{!}} The Carbon Farming Solution|website=carbonfarmingsolution.com|language=en|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> Soils can contain up to five per cent carbon by weight, including decomposing plant and animal matter and [[biochar]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/how-carbon-farming-can-help-solve-climate-change-86087|title=How carbon farming can help solve climate change|last=Burton|first=David|work=The Conversation|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en}}</ref>
+[[File:SRS1000_being_used_to_measure_soil_respiration_in_the_field..jpg|thumb|Measuring [[soil respiration]] on agricultural land. Carbon farming enhances [[carbon sequestration]] in the soil.]]
+'''Carbon farming''' is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the [[soil]], crop roots, wood and leaves. The technical term for this is ''[[carbon sequestration]]''. The overall goal of carbon farming is to create a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-01-01|title=Managing woody bamboos for carbon farming and carbon trading|journal=Global Ecology and Conservation|language=en|volume=3|pages=654–663|doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2015.03.002|issn=2351-9894|last1=Nath|first1=Arun Jyoti|last2=Lal|first2=Rattan|last3=Das|first3=Ashesh Kumar|doi-access=free|bibcode=2015GEcoC...3..654N }}</ref> This is done by increasing the rate at which carbon is sequestered into soil and plant material. One option is to increase the [[Soil organic matter|soil's organic matter]] content. This can also aid plant growth, improve [[Soil water (retention)|soil water retention]] capacity<ref name="CCI-2021">{{Cite web|title=Carbon Farming {{!}} Carbon Cycle Institute|url=http://www.carboncycle.org/carbon-farming/|access-date=2018-04-27|website=www.carboncycle.org|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521232156/https://www.carboncycle.org/carbon-farming/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and reduce [[fertilizer]] use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almaraz |first1=Maya |last2=Wong |first2=Michelle Y. |last3=Geoghegan |first3=Emily K. |last4=Houlton |first4=Benjamin Z. |date=2021 |title=A review of carbon farming impacts on nitrogen cycling, retention, and loss |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.14690 |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=1505 |issue=1 |pages=102–117 |doi=10.1111/nyas.14690 |pmid=34580879 |bibcode=2021NYASA1505..102A |s2cid=238202676 |issn=0077-8923}}</ref> [[Sustainable forest management]] is another tool that is used in carbon farming.<ref name="Jindal-2008">{{Cite journal |last1=Jindal |first1=Rohit |last2=Swallow |first2=Brent |last3=Kerr |first3=John |date=2008 |title=Forestry-based carbon sequestration projects in Africa: Potential benefits and challenges |journal=Natural Resources Forum |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=116–130 |doi=10.1111/j.1477-8947.2008.00176.x |issn=1477-8947 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Carbon farming is one component of [[climate-smart agriculture]]. It is also one way to [[carbon dioxide removal|remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere]].
+Agricultural methods for carbon farming include adjusting how [[tillage]] and livestock [[grazing]] is done, using organic [[mulch]] or [[compost]], working with [[biochar]] and [[terra preta]], and changing the crop types. Methods used in forestry include [[reforestation]] and [[bamboo farming]].
-Potential sequestration alternatives to carbon farming include scrubbing CO2 from the air with machines ([[direct air capture]]); [[Ocean fertilization|fertilizing the oceans]] to prompt [[Algal bloom|algal blooms]] that after death carry carbon to the sea bottom; storing the carbon dioxide emitted by electricity generation; and crushing and spreading types of rock such as basalt that absorb atmospheric carbon.<ref name=":6" /> Land management techniques that can be combined with farming include planting/restoring forests, burying [[biochar]] produced by [[Pyrolysis|anaerobically]] converted biomass and restoring wetlands. (Coal beds are the remains of [[Marsh|marshes]] and [[Mire|peatlands]].)<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Lehmann|first=Johannes|last2=Gaunt|first2=John|last3=Rondon|first3=Marco|date=2006-03-01|title=Bio-char Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems – A Review|journal=Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change|language=en|volume=11|issue=2|pages=403–427|doi=10.1007/s11027-005-9006-5|issn=1381-2386|citeseerx=10.1.1.183.1147}}</ref>
+Carbon farming methods might have additional costs. Some countries have government policies that give financial incentives to farmers to use carbon farming methods.<ref name="Tang-2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Tang |first1=Kai |last2=Kragt |first2=Marit E. |last3=Hailu |first3=Atakelty |last4=Ma |first4=Chunbo |date=2016-05-01 |title=Carbon farming economics: What have we learned? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479716300494 |journal=Journal of Environmental Management |language=en |volume=172 |pages=49–57 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.02.008 |issn=0301-4797 |pmid=26921565|bibcode=2016JEnvM.172...49T }}</ref> As of 2016, variants of carbon farming reached hundreds of millions of hectares globally, of the nearly {{Convert|5|e9ha}} of world farmland.<ref name="Burton-2018">{{Cite news |last=Burton |first=David |title=How carbon farming can help solve climate change |url=https://theconversation.com/how-carbon-farming-can-help-solve-climate-change-86087 |access-date=2018-04-27 |work=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref> Carbon farming has some disadvantages because some of its methods can affect [[Ecosystem service|ecosystem services]]. For example, carbon farming could cause an increase of land clearing, [[monoculture]]s and [[biodiversity loss]].<ref name="Lin-2013" /> It is important to maximize environmental benefits of carbon farming by keeping in mind ecosystem services at the same time.<ref name="Lin-2013" />{{TOC level|3}}
-== History ==
-In 2011 Australia started a [[Emissions trading|cap-and-trade]] program. Farmers who [[Carbon sequestration|sequester carbon]] can sell [[Carbon credit|carbon credits]] to companies in need of [[Carbon offset|carbon offsets]].<ref name=":0" /> The country's Direct Action Plan states "The single largest opportunity for {{Chem|CO|2}} emissions reduction in Australia is through bio-sequestration in general, and in particular, the replenishment of our soil carbons." In studies of test plots over 20 years showed increased microbial activity when farmers incorporated organic matter or reduced tillage. Soil carbon levels from 1990–2006 declined by 30% on average under continuous cropping. Incorporating organic matter alone was not enough to build soil carbon. [[Nitrogen]], [[phosphorus]] and [[Sulfur|sulphur]] had to be added as well to do so.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/carbon-farming-its-a-nice-theory-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up|title=Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up|last=Chan|first=Gabrielle|date=2013-10-29|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> By 2014 more than 75% of [[Canadian Prairies]]' cropland had adopted "conservation tillage" and more than 50% had adopted [[No-till farming|no till]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Awada|first=L.|last2=Lindwall|first2=C.W.|last3=Sonntag|first3=B.|date=March 2014|title=The development and adoption of conservation tillage systems on the Canadian Prairies|journal=International Soil and Water Conservation Research|volume=2|issue=1|pages=47–65|doi=10.1016/s2095-6339(15)30013-7|issn=2095-6339}}</ref> Twenty-five countries pledged to adopt the practice at the December 2015 [[2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference|Paris climate talks]].<ref name=":0" /> In California multiple [[Conservation district|Resource Conservation Districts]] (RCDs) support local partnerships to develop and implement carbon farming,<ref name=":1" /> In 2015 the agency that administers California's carbon-credit exchange began granting credits to farmers who compost grazing lands.<ref name=":0" /> In 2016 [[Chevrolet]] partnered with the [[United States Department of Agriculture|US Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) to purchase 40,000 carbon credits from ranchers on 11,000 no-till acres. The transaction equates to removing 5,000 cars from the road and was the largest to date in the US.<ref name=":0" /> In 2017 multiple US states passed legislation in support of carbon farming and [[soil health]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/carbon-farming-2457937143.html|title=6 States Tapping Into the Benefits of Carbon Farming|last=|first=|date=2017-07-12|work=EcoWatch|access-date=2018-04-27|publisher=Center For Food Safety|language=en}}</ref>
-* California appropriated $7.5 million as part of its Healthy Soils Program. The objective is to demonstrate that "specific management practices sequester carbon, improve soil health and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases." The program includes mulching, [[Cover crop|cover crops]], [[Compost|composting]], [[hedgerows]] and [[Buffer strip|buffer strips]].<ref name=":5" /> Nearly half of California counties have farmers who are working on carbon-farming.<ref name=":6" />
-* Maryland's Healthy Soils Program supports research, education and technical assistance.<ref name=":5" />
-* Massachusetts funds education and training to support agriculture that regenerates soil health.<ref name=":5" />
-* Hawaii created the Carbon Farming Task Force to develop incentives to increase soil carbon content.<ref name=":5" /> A 250-acre demonstration project attempted to produce biofuels from the [[pongamia]] tree. Pongamia adds nitrogen to the soil. Similarly, one ranch husbands 2,000 head of cattle on 4,000 acres, using [[rotational grazing]] to build soil, store carbon, restore hydrologic function and reduce runoff.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.greenbiz.com/article/turning-dirt-climate-goals-carbon-farming|title=Turning dirt into climate goals via carbon farming|last=Swaffer|first=Miriam|date=2017-07-11|work=GreenBiz|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en}}</ref>
-Other states are considering similar programs.<ref name=":5" />
-=== Four per 1,000 ===
-The largest international effort to promote carbon farming is “four per 1,000”, led by France. Its goal is to increase soil carbon by 0.4 percent per year through agricultural and forestry changes.<ref name=":6" />
-== Techniques ==
-===Soil carbon===
-Traditionally, [[soil carbon]] was thought to accumulate when decaying organic matter was physically mixed with soil. More recently, the role of living plants has been emphasized. Small roots die and decay while the plant is alive, depositing carbon below the surface. Further, as plants grow, their roots inject carbon into the soil, feeding [[mycorrhiza]]. An estimated 12,000 miles of their [[Hypha|hyphae]] live in every square meter of healthy soil.<ref name=":6" />
-=== Bamboo ===
-Although a bamboo forest stores less total carbon than a mature forest of trees, a bamboo plantation sequesters carbon at a much faster rate than a mature forest or a tree plantation. Therefore the farming of bamboo timber may have significant carbon sequestration potential.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/land-use/bamboo |title = Bamboo|date = 2017-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Viswanath|first=Syam|title=Carbon sequestration potential in bamboos|date=2017-10-12|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320585617_Carbon_sequestration_potential_in_bamboos|access-date=2020-02-04|last2=Subbanna|first2=Sruthi}}</ref><ref name=":3" />
-=== Seaweed farming ===
+== Aims ==
+The overall aim of carbon farming is to store carbon in the [[soil]], crop roots, wood and leaves. It is one of several methods for [[carbon sequestration]]. It can be achieved by modification of agricultural practices because soil can act as an effective [[carbon sink]] and thus offset [[Greenhouse gas emissions|carbon dioxide emissions]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Biggers |first=Jeff |date=November 20, 2015 |title=Iowa's Climate-Change Wisdom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/opinion/iowas-climate-change-wisdom.html?action%3Dclick%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26clickSource%3Dstory-heading%26module%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26region%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26WT.nav%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26_r%3D0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123211510/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/opinion/iowas-climate-change-wisdom.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0 |archive-date=November 23, 2015 |access-date=2015-11-21 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref>
-Large-scale seaweed farming (called "[[ocean afforestation]]") could sequester huge amounts of carbon. Afforesting just 9% of the ocean could sequester 53 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually.
+Agricultural sequestration practices may have positive effects on [[soil]], air, and water quality, be beneficial to [[wildlife]], and expand [[food production]]. On degraded [[croplands]], an increase of one&nbsp;ton of soil carbon pool may increase crop yield by 20 to 40&nbsp;kilograms per hectare of [[wheat]], 10 to 20&nbsp;kg/ha for maize, and 0.5 to 1&nbsp;kg/ha for [[cowpeas]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lal |first=R. |date=2004-06-11 |title=Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1097396 |url-status=live |journal=Science |language=en |volume=304 |issue=5677 |pages=1623–1627 |bibcode=2004Sci...304.1623L |doi=10.1126/science.1097396 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=15192216 |s2cid=8574723 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211235125/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1097396 |archive-date=February 11, 2023 |access-date=February 9, 2023}}</ref>
-=== Wetland restoration ===
-[[File:Wetland in Skippack Township, MontCo PA.jpg|thumb|An example of a healthy wetland ecosystem. ]]
-Wetlands are created when water overflows into heavily vegetated soil causing plants to adapt to a flooded ecosystem.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Keddy|first=Paul A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVeaSqFy2VgC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation|date=2010-07-29|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-73967-2|language=en}}</ref> Wetlands can occur in three different regions.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/water/wetlands/|title=Wetlands|last=|first=|date=|website=United States Department of Agriculture|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=04/01/2020}}</ref> Marine wetlands are found in shallow coastal areas, tidal wetlands are also coastal but are found farther inland, and non-tidal wetlands are found inland and have no affects from tides. Wetland soil is an important carbon sink; 14.5% of the world's [[soil carbon]] is found in wetlands, while only 5.5% of the world's land is composed of wetlands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/wetlands|title=Wetlands|last=US EPA|first=ORD|date=2017-11-02|website=US EPA|language=en|access-date=2020-04-01}}</ref> Not only are wetlands a great carbon sink, they have many other benefits like collecting floodwater, filtering air and water pollutants, and creating a home for numerous birds, fish, insects, and plants.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/water/wetlands/|title=Wetlands|last=|first=|date=|website=United States Department of Agriculture|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=04/01/2020}}</ref>
+== Mechanism ==
-Climate change could alter soil carbon storage changing it from a sink to a source.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Zedler|first=Joy B.|last2=Kercher|first2=Suzanne|date=2005-11-21|title=WETLAND RESOURCES: Status, Trends, Ecosystem Services, and Restorability|url=http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144248|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|language=en|volume=30|issue=1|pages=39–74|doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144248|issn=1543-5938}}</ref> With rising temperatures comes an increase in [[Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gasses]] from wetlands especially locations with [[permafrost]]. When this permafrost melts in increases the available oxygen and water in the soil.<ref name=":12" /> Because of this, bacteria in the soil would create large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane to be released into the atmosphere.<ref name=":12" />
+{{See also|Biological carbon fixation|Carbon sequestration|Carbon dioxide removal}}
+Compared to [[Natural vegetation and wildlife of Andhra Pradesh|natural vegetation]], cropland soils are depleted in [[soil organic carbon]] (SOC). When a soil is converted from natural land or semi natural land, such as [[forest]]s, woodlands, [[grassland]]s, [[steppe]]s and [[savanna]]s, the SOC content in the soil reduces by about 30–40%.<ref name="soils">{{Cite journal |last1=Poeplau |first1=Christopher |last2=Don |first2=Axel |date=2015-02-01 |title=Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via cultivation of cover crops – A meta-analysis |journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment |volume=200 |issue=Supplement C |pages=33–41 |doi=10.1016/j.agee.2014.10.024|bibcode=2015AgEE..200...33P }}</ref> The loss of carbon through agricultural practices can eventually lead to the loss of soil suitable for agriculture.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last1=Haddaway |first1=Neal R. |last2=Hedlund |first2=Katarina |last3=Jackson |first3=Louise E. |last4=Kätterer |first4=Thomas |last5=Lugato |first5=Emanuele |last6=Thomsen |first6=Ingrid K. |last7=Jørgensen |first7=Helene B. |last8=Isberg |first8=Per-Erik |date=2017-12-18 |title=How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic review |journal=Environmental Evidence |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=30 |doi=10.1186/s13750-017-0108-9 |issn=2047-2382 |s2cid=91136899 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2017EnvEv...6...30H }}</ref> The carbon loss from the soil is due to the removal of plant material containing carbon, via harvesting. When [[land use change]]s, soil carbon either increases or decreases. This change continues until the soil reaches a new equilibrium. Deviations from this equilibrium can also be affected by varying climate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Goglio |first1=Pietro |last2=Smith |first2=Ward N. |last3=Grant |first3=Brian B. |last4=Desjardins |first4=Raymond L. |last5=McConkey |first5=Brian G. |last6=Campbell |first6=Con A. |last7=Nemecek |first7=Thomas |date=2015-10-01 |title=Accounting for soil carbon changes in agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA): a review |url=https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/accounting-for-soil-carbon-changes-in-agricultural-life-cycle-7fKGPeVfUr |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=104 |pages=23–39 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.040 |bibcode=2015JCPro.104...23G |issn=0959-6526 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030235106/https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/accounting-for-soil-carbon-changes-in-agricultural-life-cycle-7fKGPeVfUr |archive-date=2020-10-30 |access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref> The decrease can be counteracted by increasing carbon input. This can be done via several strategies, e.g. leaving harvest residues on the field, using [[manure]] or rotating [[perennial crop]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Pete |date=2004-02-01 |title=Carbon sequestration in croplands: the potential in Europe and the global context |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1161030103000996 |journal=European Journal of Agronomy |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=229–236 |doi=10.1016/j.eja.2003.08.002 |bibcode=2004EuJAg..20..229S |issn=1161-0301}}</ref> Perennial crops have a larger below ground biomass fraction, which increases the SOC content.<ref name="soils" /> Globally, soils are estimated to contain >8,580&nbsp;gigatons of organic carbon, about ten times the amount in the atmosphere and much more than in vegetation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blakemore |first=R.J. |date=Nov 2018 |title=Non-flat Earth Recalibrated for Terrain and Topsoil |journal=Soil Systems |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=64 |doi=10.3390/soilsystems2040064 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
+In part, [[soil carbon]] is thought to accumulate when decaying organic matter was physically mixed with soil.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Acton|first1=Peter|last2=Fox|first2=Jimmy|last3=Campbell|first3=Elliott|last4=Rowe|first4=Harry|last5=Wilkinson|first5=Marsh|date=2013|title=Carbon isotopes for estimating soil decomposition and physical mixing in well-drained forest soils|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences|language=en|volume=118|issue=4|pages=1532–1545|doi=10.1002/2013JG002400|bibcode=2013JGRG..118.1532A|issn=2169-8961|doi-access=free}}</ref> Small roots die and decay while the plant is alive, depositing carbon below the surface.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Deyn|first1=Gerlinde B. De|last2=Cornelissen|first2=Johannes H. C.|last3=Bardgett|first3=Richard D.|date=2008|title=Plant functional traits and soil carbon sequestration in contrasting biomes|journal=Ecology Letters|language=en|volume=11|issue=5|pages=516–531|doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01164.x|pmid=18279352|issn=1461-0248|doi-access=free|bibcode=2008EcolL..11..516D }}</ref> More recently, the role of living plants has been emphasized where carbon is released as plants grow.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kuzyakov |first1=Yakov |author-link=Yakov Kuzyakov |last2=Domanski |first2=Grzegorz |date=2000 |title=Carbon input by plants into the soil. Review |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1522-2624%28200008%29163%3A4%3C421%3A%3AAID-JPLN421%3E3.0.CO%3B2-R |journal=Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science |language=en |volume=163 |issue=4 |pages=421–431 |doi=10.1002/1522-2624(200008)163:4<421::AID-JPLN421>3.0.CO;2-R |bibcode=2000JPNSS.163..421K |issn=1522-2624}}</ref> Soils can contain up to 5% carbon by weight, including decomposing plant and animal matter and [[biochar]].
-=== Agriculture ===
+About half of soil carbon is found within deep soils.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Schmidt MW, Torn MS, Abiven S, Dittmar T, Guggenberger G, Janssens IA, Kleber M, Kögel-Knabner I, Lehmann J, Manning DA, Nannipieri P, Rasse DP, Weiner S, [[Susan Trumbore|Trumbore SE]]|date=2011|title=Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc844476/m2/1/high_res_d/1051632.pdf|journal=Nature|type=Submitted manuscript|volume=478|issue=7367|pages=49–56|bibcode=2011Natur.478...49S|doi=10.1038/nature10386|pmid=21979045|s2cid=3461265}}</ref> About 90% of this is stabilized by mineral–organic associations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Advances in Agronomy|vauthors=Kleber M, Eusterhues K, Keiluweit M, Mikutta C, Nico PS|publisher=Academic Press|year=2015|isbn=9780128021378|veditors=Sparks DL|volume=130|pages=1–140|chapter=Mineral – Organic Associations : Formation, Properties, and Relevance in Soil Environments|doi=10.1016/bs.agron.2014.10.005}}</ref>
-Compared to natural vegetation, cropland soils are depleted in soil organic carbon (SOC). When a soil is converted from natural land or semi natural land, such as forests, woodlands, grasslands, steppes and savannas, the SOC content in the soil reduces by about 30–40%.<ref name="soils">{{Cite journal|last=Poeplau|first=Christopher|last2=Don|first2=Axel|date=2015-02-01|title=Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via cultivation of cover crops – A meta-analysis|url=|journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment|volume=200|issue=Supplement C|pages=33–41|doi=10.1016/j.agee.2014.10.024}}</ref> This loss is due to the removal of plant material containing carbon, via harvesting. When land use changes, soil carbon either increases or decreases. This change continues until the soil reaches a new equilibrium. Deviations from this equilibrium can also be affected by varying climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Goglio|first=Pietro|last2=Smith|first2=Ward N.|last3=Grant|first3=Brian B.|last4=Desjardins|first4=Raymond L.|last5=McConkey|first5=Brian G.|last6=Campbell|first6=Con A.|last7=Nemecek|first7=Thomas|date=2015-10-01|title=Accounting for soil carbon changes in agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA): a review|url=https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/accounting-for-soil-carbon-changes-in-agricultural-life-cycle-7fKGPeVfUr|journal=Journal of Cleaner Production|language=en|volume=104|pages=23–39|doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.040|issn=0959-6526}}</ref> The decrease can be counteracted by increasing carbon input. This can be done  via several strategies, e.g. leaving harvest residues on the field, using manure or rotating perennial crops. Perennial crops have a larger below ground biomass fraction, which increases the SOC content.<ref name="soils" /> Globally, soils are estimated to contain >8,580&nbsp;gigatons of organic carbon, about ten times the amount in the atmosphere and much more than in vegetation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Blakemore |first=R.J. |journal= Soil Systems|volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=64 |title=Non-flat Earth Recalibrated for Terrain and Topsoil |date=Nov 2018 |doi=10.3390/soilsystems2040064 }}</ref>
+== Scale ==
-Modification of agricultural practices is a recognized method of carbon sequestration as soil can act as an effective carbon sink offsetting as much as 20% of 2010 carbon dioxide emissions annually.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/opinion/iowas-climate-change-wisdom.html?action%3Dclick%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26clickSource%3Dstory-heading%26module%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26region%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26WT.nav%3Dopinion-c-col-right-region%26_r%3D0|title=Iowa's Climate-Change Wisdom|last=Biggers|first=Jeff|date=November 20, 2015|newspaper=New York Times|accessdate=2015-11-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123211510/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/opinion/iowas-climate-change-wisdom.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0|archivedate=November 23, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  [[Organic farming]] and [[earthworms]] may be able to more than offset the annual carbon excess of 4 Gt/year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vermecology.wordpress.com/2019/11/11/earthworm-cast-carbon-storage-eccs/|title=Earthworm Cast Carbon Storage |author= VermEcology|date=11 November 2019}}</ref>
+Carbon farming can offset as much as 20% of 2010 carbon dioxide emissions annually.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2016, variants of carbon farming reached hundreds of millions of hectares globally, of the nearly {{Convert|5|e9ha}} of world farmland.<ref name="Burton-2018" />
+However, the effects of soil sequestration can be reversed. If the soil is disrupted or intensive tillage practices are used, the soil becomes a net source of greenhouse gases. Typically after several decades of sequestration, the soil becomes saturated and ceases to absorb carbon. This implies that there is a global limit to the amount of carbon that soil can hold.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sundermeiera |first1=A.P. |last2=Islam |first2=K.R. |last3=Raut |first3=Y. |last4=Reeder |first4=R.C. |last5=Dick |first5=W.A. |date=September 2010 |title=Continuous No-Till Impacts on Soil Biophysical Carbon Sequestration |journal=Soil Science Society of America Journal |volume=75 |issue=5 |pages=1779–1788 |bibcode=2011SSASJ..75.1779S |doi=10.2136/sssaj2010.0334}}</ref>
-Carbon emission reduction methods in agriculture can be grouped into two categories: reducing and/or displacing emissions and enhancing [[carbon sequestration]]. Reductions include increasing the efficiency of farm operations (e.g. more fuel-efficient equipment) and  interrupting the natural [[carbon cycle]]. Effective techniques (such as the elimination of [[stubble burning]]) can negatively impact other environmental concerns (increased herbicide use to control weeds not destroyed by burning).
+== Methods used in agriculture ==
-=== Deep soil ===
+{{See also|Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture}}All crops absorb {{chem|CO|2}} during growth and release it after harvest. The goal of agricultural carbon removal is to use the crop and its relation to the carbon cycle to permanently sequester carbon within the soil. This is done by selecting farming methods that return biomass to the soil and enhance the conditions in which the carbon within the plants will be reduced to its elemental nature and stored in a stable state. Methods for accomplishing this include:
-About half of soil carbon is found within deep soils.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Schmidt MW, Torn MS, Abiven S, Dittmar T, Guggenberger G, Janssens IA, Kleber M, Kögel-Knabner I, Lehmann J, Manning DA, Nannipieri P, Rasse DP, Weiner S, Trumbore SE |date=2011 |title=Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc844476/m2/1/high_res_d/1051632.pdf|journal=Nature|volume=478|issue=7367|pages=49–56|via=|doi=10.1038/nature10386|pmid=21979045|bibcode=2011Natur.478...49S|type=Submitted manuscript}}</ref> About 90% of this is stabilized by mineral-organic associations.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Advances in Agronomy |volume=130 |pages=1–140 |chapter=Mineral – Organic Associations : Formation, Properties, and Relevance in Soil Environments |veditors=Sparks DL |vauthors=Kleber M, Eusterhues K, Keiluweit M, Mikutta C, Nico PS |publisher=Academic Press |year=2015 |doi=10.1016/bs.agron.2014.10.005|isbn=9780128021378 }}</ref>
+* Use [[Cover crop|cover crops]] such as grasses and weeds as a temporary cover between planting seasons
-At least thirty-two [[Natural Resources Conservation Service|Natural Resource Conservation Service]] (NRCS) practices improve soil health and sequester carbon, along with important co-benefits: increased water retention, hydrological function, [[biodiversity]] and resilience. Approved practices may make farmers eligible for federal funds. Not all carbon farming techniques have been recommended.<ref name=":6" /> Carbon farming may consider related issues such as [[groundwater]] and surface water degradation.<ref name=":1" />
+* Concentrate livestock in small paddocks for days at a time so they graze lightly but evenly. This encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil. Stock also till the soil with their hooves, grinding old grass and manures into the soil.<ref name="australia">{{cite news |date=June 16, 2009 |title=FACTBOX: Carbon farming on rise in Australia |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE55G01B20090617?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122080408/https://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE55G01B20090617?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |access-date=May 9, 2010 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
+* Cover bare paddocks with hay or dead vegetation. This protects soil from the sun and allows the soil to hold more water and be more attractive to carbon-capturing microbes.<ref name="australia" />
+* Restore degraded, marginal, and abandoned land, which slows carbon release while returning the land to agriculture or other use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=Stephen M. |last2=Barriocanal |first2=Carles |last3=Terrer |first3=César |last4=Rosell-Melé |first4=Antoni |date=2020-06-01 |title=Management opportunities for soil carbon sequestration following agricultural land abandonment |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |language=en |volume=108 |pages=104–111 |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2020.03.018 |issn=1462-9011 |s2cid=218795674 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020ESPol.108..104B }}</ref> Degraded land with low soil carbon pool has particularly high potential to store soil carbon, which can be farther enhanced by proper selection of vegetation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vindušková |first1=Olga |last2=Frouz |first2=Jan |date=2013-07-01 |title=Soil carbon accumulation after open-cast coal and oil shale mining in Northern Hemisphere: a quantitative review |journal=Environmental Earth Sciences |language=en |volume=69 |issue=5 |pages=1685–1698 |bibcode=2013EES....69.1685V |doi=10.1007/s12665-012-2004-5 |issn=1866-6299 |s2cid=129185046}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frouz |first1=Jan |last2=Livečková |first2=Miluše |last3=Albrechtová |first3=Jana |last4=Chroňáková |first4=Alica |last5=Cajthaml |first5=Tomáš |last6=Pižl |first6=Václav |last7=Háněl |first7=Ladislav |last8=Starý |first8=Josef |last9=Baldrian |first9=Petr |last10=Lhotáková |first10=Zuzana |last11=Šimáčková |first11=Hana |last12=Cepáková |first12=Šárka |date=2013-12-01 |title=Is the effect of trees on soil properties mediated by soil fauna? A case study from post-mining sites |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |language=en |volume=309 |pages=87–95 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2013.02.013 |bibcode=2013ForEM.309...87F |issn=0378-1127}}</ref>
-=== Biochar/terra preta ===
+=== Adjusting livestock grazing ===
+{{Main|Grazing|Regenerative agriculture}}
+[[File:Jeju_black_cattle_grazing.JPG|thumb|Cattle grazing]]
+Livestock, like all animals, are net producers of carbon. Ruminants like cows and sheep produce not only CO<sub>2</sub>, but also methane due to the microbes residing in their digestive system. A small amount of carbon may be sequestered in grassland soils through root exudates and manure. By regularly rotating the herd through multiple [[paddock]]s (as often as daily) the paddocks can rest/recover between grazing periods. This pattern produces stable grasslands with significant fodder.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> Annual grasses have shallower roots and die once they are grazed. Rotational grazing leads to the replacement of annuals by perennials with deeper roots, which can recover after grazing. By contrast, allowing animals to range over a large area for an extended period can destroy the grassland.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018">{{Cite news |last=Velasquez-Manoff |first=Moises |date=2018-04-18 |title=Can Dirt Save the Earth? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/magazine/dirt-save-earth-carbon-farming-climate-change.html |access-date=2018-04-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+[[Silvopasture]] involves grazing livestock under tree cover, with trees separated enough to allow adequate sunlight to nourish the grass.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> For example, a farm in Mexico planted native trees on a paddock spanning {{Convert|22|ha|acre}}. This evolved into a successful organic dairy. The operation became a subsistence farm, earning income from consulting/training others rather than from crop production.<ref name="CCS-2018">{{Cite web |title=Excerpt {{!}} The Carbon Farming Solution |url=http://carbonfarmingsolution.com/excerpt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224105554/http://carbonfarmingsolution.com/excerpt |archive-date=2021-02-24 |access-date=2018-04-27 |website=carbonfarmingsolution.com |language=en}}</ref>
+=== Adjusting tillage ===
+{{Main|No-till farming}}
+Carbon farming minimizes disruption to soils over the planting/growing/harvest cycle. [[Tillage]] is avoided using [[seed drill]]s or similar techniques.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krishna |first1=Vijesh V. |last2=Veettil |first2=Prakashan C. |date=2014-05-01 |title=Productivity and efficiency impacts of conservation tillage in northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X14000298 |journal=Agricultural Systems |language=en |volume=127 |pages=126–138 |doi=10.1016/j.agsy.2014.02.004 |bibcode=2014AgSys.127..126K |issn=0308-521X}}</ref> Livestock can trample and/or eat the remains of a harvested field.<ref name="Barth-2016">{{Cite news |date=2016-03-25 |title=Carbon Farming: Hope for a Hot Planet – Modern Farmer |language=en-US |work=Modern Farmer |url=https://modernfarmer.com/2016/03/carbon-farming/ |access-date=2018-04-25}}</ref> The reduction or complete halt of tilling will create an increase in the soil carbon concentrations of topsoil.<ref name="auto" /> Plowing splits soil aggregates and allows microorganisms to consume their organic compounds. The increased microbial activity releases nutrients, initially boosting yield. Thereafter the loss of structure reduces soil's ability to hold water and resist erosion, thereby reducing yield.<ref name="Burton-2018" />
+=== Using organic mulch and compost ===
+[[Mulch]]ing covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw. Alternatively, crop residue can be left in place to enter the soil as it decomposes.<ref name="Barth-2016" />
+[[Compost]] sequesters carbon in a stable (not easily accessed) form. Carbon farmers spread it over the soil surface without tilling.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> A 2013 study found that a single compost application significantly and durably increased grassland carbon storage by 25–70%. The continuation sequestration likely came from increased water-holding and "fertilization" by compost decomposition. Both factors support increased productivity. Both tested sites showed large increases in grassland productivity: a forage increase of 78% in a drier valley site, while a wetter coastal site averaged an increase of 42%. {{Chem|CH|4}} and {{Chem|N|2|O}} and emissions did not increase significantly. Methane fluxes were negligible. Soil {{Chem|N|2|O}} emissions from temperate grasslands amended with chemical fertilizers and manures were orders of magnitude higher.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=RYALS |first1=REBECCA |last2=SILVER |first2=WHENDEE L. |author-link2=Whendee Silver |year=2013 |title=Effects of Organic Matter Amendments on Net Primary Productivity |url=https://www.marincarbonproject.org/file/2018-documents/Paper-Summary---Effects-of-Organic-Matter-Amendments-on-Net-Primary-Productivity.pdf |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=46–59 |doi=10.1890/12-0620.1 |pmid=23495635 |s2cid=6768979 |access-date=2018-04-28 |archive-date=2021-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907105832/https://www.marincarbonproject.org/file/2018-documents/Paper-Summary---Effects-of-Organic-Matter-Amendments-on-Net-Primary-Productivity.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another study found that grasslands treated with .5" of commercial compost began absorbing carbon at an annual rate of nearly 1.5 tons/acre and continued to do so in subsequent years. As of 2018, this study had not been replicated.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+=== Working with biochar and terra preta ===
 {{Main|Biochar}}
-Mixing anaerobically burned biochar into soil sequesters approximately 50% of the carbon in the biomass. Globally up to 12% of the anthropogenic carbon emissions from land use change (0.21 gigatonnes) can be off-set annually in soil, if [[slash-and-burn]] is replaced by [[slash-and-char]]. Agriculture and forestry wastes could add some 0.16 gigatonnes/year. Biofuel production using modern biomass can produce a bio-char by-product through [[pyrolysis]] sequestering 30.6 kg for each [[gigajoule]] of energy produced. Soil-sequestered carbon is easily and verifiably measured.<ref name=":7" />
+Mixing anaerobically burned biochar into soil sequesters approximately 50% of the carbon in the biomass. Globally up to 12% of the anthropogenic carbon emissions from land use change (0.21 gigatonnes) can be off-set annually in soil, if [[slash-and-burn]] is replaced by [[slash-and-char]]. Agriculture and forestry wastes could add some 0.16 gigatonnes/year. Biofuel production using modern biomass can produce a bio-char by-product through [[pyrolysis]] sequestering 30.6&nbsp;kg for each [[gigajoule]] of energy produced. Soil-sequestered carbon is easily and verifiably measured.<ref name="Lehmann-2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Lehmann |first1=Johannes |last2=Gaunt |first2=John |last3=Rondon |first3=Marco |date=2006-03-01 |title=Bio-char Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems – A Review |journal=Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change |language=en |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=403–427 |citeseerx=10.1.1.183.1147 |doi=10.1007/s11027-005-9006-5 |bibcode=2006MASGC..11..403L |issn=1381-2386 |s2cid=4696862}}</ref>
-=== Tilling ===
-Carbon farming minimizes disruption to soils over the planting/growing/harvest cycle. [[Tillage]] is avoided using [[Seed drill|seed drills]] or similar techniques. Livestock can trample and/or eat the remains of a harvested field.<ref name=":0" />
-=== Livestock grazing ===
-Livestock sequester carbon when the animal eats the grass, causing its roots to release carbon into the soil. However, these animals typically produce significant [[methane]], potentially offsetting the carbon impact.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} By regularly rotating the herd through multiple [[Paddock|paddocks]] (as often as daily) the paddocks can rest/recover between grazing periods. This pattern produces stable grasslands with significant fodder.<ref name=":0" /> Annual grasses have shallower roots and die once they’re grazed. Rotational grazing leads to the replacement of annuals by perennials with deeper roots, which can recover after grazing. By contrast, allowing animals to range over a large area for an extended period can destroy the grassland.<ref name=":6" />
-=== Silvopasture ===
-[[Silvopasture]] involves grazing livestock under tree cover, with trees separated enough to allow adequate sunlight to nourish the grass.<ref name=":0" /> For example, a farm in Mexico planted native trees on a paddock spanning {{Convert|22|ha|acre}}. This evolved into a successful organic dairy. The operation became a subsistence farm, earning income from consulting/training others rather than from crop production.<ref name=":2" />
-=== Organic mulch ===
+=== Adjusting crop type ===
+[[Cover crops]] are fast-growing species planted to protect soils from wind and water erosion during the off-growing season. The cover crop may be incorporated into the soil to increase soil organic matter. Legume cover crops can also produce a small amount of nitrogen. The carbon content of a soil should not be increased without also ensuring that the relative amount of nitrogen also increases to maintain a healthy soil ecosystem.
-[[Mulch|Mulching]] covers the soil around plants with a mulch of wood chips or straw. Alternatively, crop residue can be left in place to enter the soil as it decomposes.<ref name=":0" />
-=== Compost ===
-{{Main|Compost}}
-[[Compost]] sequesters carbon in a stable (not easily accessed) form. Carbon farmers spread it over the soil surface without tilling.<ref name=":0" /> A 2013 study found that a single compost application significantly and durably increased grassland carbon storage by 25–70%. The continuation sequestration likely came from increased water-holding and “fertilization” by compost decomposition. Both factors support increased productivity. Both tested sites showed large increases in grassland productivity: a forage increase of 78% in a drier valley site, while a wetter coastal site averaged an increase of 42%. {{Chem|CH|4}} and {{Chem|N|2|O}} and emissions did not increase significantly. Methane fluxes were negligible. Soil {{Chem|N|2|O}} emissions from temperate grasslands amended with chemical fertilizers and manures were orders of magnitude higher.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=RYALS|first=REBECCA|last2=SILVER|first2=WHENDEE L.|authorlink2=Whendee Silver|year=2013|title=Effects of Organic Matter Amendments on Net Primary Productivity|url=https://www.marincarbonproject.org/file/2018-documents/Paper-Summary---Effects-of-Organic-Matter-Amendments-on-Net-Primary-Productivity.pdf|journal=Ecological Applications|volume=23|issue=1|pages=46–59|doi=10.1890/12-0620.1|pmid=23495635}}</ref> Another study found that grasslands treated with .5" of commercial compost began absorbing carbon at an annual rate of nearly 1.5 tons/acre and continued to do so in subsequent years. As of 2018, this study had not been replicated.<ref name=":6" />
+Perennial crops offer potential to sequester carbon when grown in multilayered systems. One system uses perennial staple crops that grow on trees that are analogs to maize and beans, or vines, palms and herbaceous perennials.<ref name="Chan-2013-1">{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Gabrielle |date=2013-10-29 |title=Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/carbon-farming-its-a-nice-theory-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up |access-date=2018-04-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
-=== Cover crops ===
-With row crops such as corn and wheat, fast-growing ground cover can be grown between the stalks (e.g., [[clover]] or [[Vicia|vetch]]). They protect the soil from carbon loss through the winter and may be planted together with cash crops to compensate for carbon lost when those crops are harvested.<ref name=":0" /> Forage crops such as grasses, clovers and alfalfa develop extensive root systems that can become soil organic matter. Crops with limited root systems (corn, soybeans) do not increase organic matter in the soil.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/how-carbon-farming-can-help-solve-climate-change-86087|title=How carbon farming can help solve climate change|last=Burton|first=David|date=November 9, 2017|work=The Conversation|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en}}</ref>
+== Methods used in forestry ==
-=== Hybrids ===
-Perennial crops offer potential to sequester carbon when grown in multilayered systems. One system uses perennial staple crops that grow on trees that are analogs to maize and beans, or vines, palms and herbaceous perennials.<ref name=":3" />
-=== Conventional agriculture ===
+=== Reforestation ===
+Forestry and agriculture are both land-based human activities that add up to contribute approximately a third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2009-11-01|title=The opportunity cost of land use and the global potential for greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture and forestry|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0928765509000220|journal=Resource and Energy Economics|language=en|volume=31|issue=4|pages=299–319|doi=10.1016/j.reseneeco.2009.04.007|issn=0928-7655|last1=Golub|first1=Alla|last2=Hertel|first2=Thomas|last3=Lee|first3=Huey-Lin|last4=Rose|first4=Steven|last5=Sohngen|first5=Brent|bibcode=2009REEco..31..299G }}</ref> There is a large interest in reforestation, but in regards to carbon farming most of that reforestation opportunity will be in small patches with trees being planted by individual land owners in exchange for benefits provided by carbon farming programs.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2018-06-01|title=Effective incentives for reforestation: lessons from Australia's carbon farming policies|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877343517301604|journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability|language=en|volume=32|pages=38–45|doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2018.04.002|issn=1877-3435|last1=Evans|first1=Megan C.|bibcode=2018COES...32...38E |s2cid=158913311 |hdl=1959.4/unsworks_74642|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Forestry in carbon farming can be both reforestation, which is restoring forests to areas that were [[Deforestation|deforested]], and [[afforestation]] which would be planting forests in areas that were not historically forested.<ref name="Jindal-2008" /> Not all forests will sequester the same amount of carbon. Carbon sequestration is dependent on several factors which can include forest age, forest type, amount of biodiversity, the management practices the forest is experiences and climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hudiburg|first1=Tara|last2=Law|first2=Beverly|last3=Turner|first3=David P.|last4=Campbell|first4=John|last5=Donato|first5=Dan|last6=Duane|first6=Maureen|date=2009|title=Carbon dynamics of Oregon and Northern California forests and potential land-based carbon storage|url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/07-2006.1|journal=Ecological Applications|language=en|volume=19|issue=1|pages=163–180|doi=10.1890/07-2006.1|pmid=19323181|bibcode=2009EcoAp..19..163H |issn=1939-5582}}</ref><ref name="Díaz-2009">{{Cite journal|date=2009-10-01|title=Biodiversity in forest carbon sequestration initiatives: not just a side benefit|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877343509000177|journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=55–60|doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2009.08.001|issn=1877-3435|last1=Díaz|first1=Sandra|last2=Hector|first2=Andy|last3=Wardle|first3=David A.|bibcode=2009COES....1...55D |hdl=11336/20742|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Biodiversity is often thought to be a side benefit of carbon farming, but in forest ecosystems increased biodiversity can increase the rate of carbon sequestration and can be a tool in carbon farming and not just a side benefit.<ref name="Díaz-2009" />
-Plowing splits soil aggregates and allows microorganisms to consume their organic compounds. The increased microbial activity releases nutrients, initially boosting yield. Thereafter the loss of structure reduces soil’s ability to hold water and resist erosion, thereby reducing yield.<ref name=":4" />
-== Criticisms ==
+=== Bamboo farming ===
+A [[bamboo]] forest will store less total carbon than most types of mature forest. However, it can store a similar total amount of carbon as rubber plantations and tree orchards, and can surpass the total carbon stored in [[Agroforestry|agroforests]], [[palm oil]] plantations, [[grassland]]s and shrublands.<ref name="Yuen-2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Yuen|first1=Jia Qi|last2=Fung|first2=Tak|last3=Ziegler|first3=Alan D.|date=2017-06-01|title=Carbon stocks in bamboo ecosystems worldwide: Estimates and uncertainties|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716305539|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|language=en|volume=393|pages=113–138|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2017.01.017|bibcode=2017ForEM.393..113Y |issn=0378-1127}}</ref> A bamboo plantation sequesters carbon at a faster rate than a mature forest or a tree plantation.<ref name="Dwivedi-2019">{{Cite journal|last1=Dwivedi|first1=Arun Kumar|last2=Kumar|first2=Anil|last3=Baredar|first3=Prashant|last4=Prakash|first4=Om|date=2019-05-01|title=Bamboo as a complementary crop to address climate change and livelihoods – Insights from India|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934118304891|journal=Forest Policy and Economics|language=en|volume=102|pages=66–74|doi=10.1016/j.forpol.2019.02.007|bibcode=2019ForPE.102...66D |s2cid=159340063 |issn=1389-9341}}</ref> However it has been found that only new plantations or plantations with active management will be sequestering carbon at a faster rate than mature forests.<ref>Yiping, L., Yanxia, L., Buckingham, K., Henley, G., & Guomo, Z. (2010). Bamboo and Climate Change Mitigation: a comparative analysis of carbon sequestration. ''International Network Bamboo and Rattan''.</ref> Compared with other fast-growing tree species, bamboo is only superior in its ability to sequester carbon if selectively harvested.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kuehl|first1=Y.|last2=Li|first2=Y.|last3=Henley|first3=G.|date=2013-03-01|title=Impacts of selective harvest on the carbon sequestration potential in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) plantations|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2013.773652|journal=Forests, Trees and Livelihoods|volume=22|issue=1|pages=1–18|doi=10.1080/14728028.2013.773652|bibcode=2013ForTL..22....1K |s2cid=128417104|issn=1472-8028}}</ref> Bamboo forests are especially high in potential for carbon sequestration if the cultivated plant material is turned into durable products that keep the carbon in the plant material for a long period because bamboo is both fast growing and regrows strongly following an annual harvest.<ref name="Yuen-2017" /><ref name="Song-2011">{{Cite journal|last1=SongXinzhang|last2=ZhouGuomo|last3=JiangHong|last4=YuShuquan|last5=FuJinhe|last6=LiWeizhong|last7=WangWeifeng|last8=MaZhihai|last9=PengChanghui|date=2011-10-25|title=Carbon sequestration by Chinese bamboo forests and their ecological benefits: assessment of potential, problems, and future challenges|url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/a11-015|journal=Environmental Reviews|volume=19|pages=418–428|language=en|doi=10.1139/a11-015}}</ref>
-Critics say that the related [[regenerative agriculture]] cannot be adopted enough to matter or that it could lower commodity prices. The impact of increased soil carbon on yield has yet to be settled.{{Cn|date=February 2020}}
+While bamboo has the ability to store carbon as biomass in cultivated material, more than half of the carbon sequestration from bamboo will be stored as carbon in the soil.<ref name="Song-2011" /> Carbon that is sequestered into the soil by bamboo is stored by the rhizomes and roots which is biomass that will remain in the soil after plant material above the soil is harvested and stored long-term.<ref name="Dwivedi-2019" /> Bamboo can be planted in sub-optimal land unsuitable for cultivating other crops and the benefits would include not only carbon sequestration but improving the quality of the land for future crops and reducing the amount of land subject to deforestation.<ref name="Dwivedi-2019" /> The use of [[carbon emission trading]] is also available to farmers who use bamboo to gain carbon credit in otherwise uncultivated land.<ref name="Dwivedi-2019" /> Therefore, the farming of bamboo timber may have significant carbon sequestration potential.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/land-use/bamboo|title = Bamboo|date = 2017-02-08|access-date = 2019-11-21|archive-date = 2020-02-13|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200213163655/https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/land-use/bamboo|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Viswanath|first1=Syam|title=Carbon sequestration potential in bamboos|date=2017-10-12|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320585617|access-date=2020-02-04|last2=Subbanna|first2=Sruthi}}</ref><ref name="Chan-2013" />
-Another criticism says that no-till practices may increase herbicide use, diminishing or eliminating carbon benefits.<ref name=":6" />
+== Costs and financial incentives ==
+Many factors affect the costs of carbon sequestration including [[soil quality]], transaction costs and various externalities such as leakage and unforeseen environmental damage. Because reduction of atmospheric {{chem|CO|2}} is a long-term concern, farmers can be reluctant to adopt more expensive agricultural techniques when there is not a clear crop, soil, or economic benefit.
+Carbon farming methods might have additional costs. Individual land owners are sometimes given incentives to use carbon farming methods through government policies.<ref name="Tang-2016" /> Governments in Australia and New Zealand are considering allowing farmers to sell carbon credits once they document that they have sufficiently increased soil carbon content.<ref name="australia" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Pete |last2=Martino |first2=Daniel |last3=Cai |first3=Zucong |display-authors=etal |date=February 2008 |title=Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume=363 |issue=1492 |pages=789–813 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2007.2184 |pmc=2610110 |pmid=17827109}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Environmental Co Benefits of Sequestration Practices. 2006. June 1, 2009. |url=http://www.epa.gov/sequestration/co-benefits.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511195852/http://www.epa.gov/sequestration/co-benefits.html |archive-date=May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Lal |first=R. |date=June 11, 2004 |title=Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security |journal=Science |volume=304 |issue=5677 |pages=1623–1627 |bibcode=2004Sci...304.1623L |doi=10.1126/science.1097396 |pmid=15192216 |s2cid=8574723}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Addressing Reversibility (Duration) for Projects |url=http://www.epa.gov/sequestration/duration.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013103758/http://www.epa.gov/sequestration/duration.html |archive-date=October 13, 2008 |publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency. 2006. June 1, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Renwick |first1=A. |last2=Ball |first2=A. |last3=Pretty |first3=J.N. |date=August 2002 |title=Biological and Policy Constraints on the Adoption of Carbon Farming in Temperate Regions |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A |volume=360 |issue=1797 |pages=1721–40 |bibcode=2002RSPTA.360.1721R |doi=10.1098/rsta.2002.1028 |pmid=12460494 |s2cid=41627741}} pp. 1722, 1726–29.</ref>
+Approved practices may make farmers eligible for federal funds. Not all carbon farming techniques have been recommended.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+== Challenges ==
+Carbon farming is not without its challenges or disadvantages. When ecosystem restoration is used as a form of carbon farming, there can be a lack of knowledge that is disadvantageous in project planning.<ref name="Lin-2013">{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=Brenda B.|last2=Macfadyen|first2=Sarina|last3=Renwick|first3=Anna R.|last4=Cunningham|first4=Saul A.|last5=Schellhorn|first5=Nancy A.|date=2013-10-01|title=Maximizing the Environmental Benefits of Carbon Farming through Ecosystem Service Delivery|journal=BioScience|volume=63|issue=10|pages=793–803|doi=10.1525/bio.2013.63.10.6|issn=0006-3568|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Ecosystem service]]s are often a side benefit of restoring ecosystems along with carbon farming, but often ecosystem services are ignored in project planning because, unlike carbon sequestration, is not a global commodity that can be traded.<ref name="Lin-2013" /> If and how carbon farming's additional sequestration methods can affect ecosystem services should be researched to determine how different methods and strategies will impact the value an ecosystem service in particular areas.<ref name="Lin-2013" /> One concern to note is that if policy and incentives are only aimed towards carbon sequestration, then carbon farming could actually be harmful to [[Ecosystem|ecosystems]].<ref name="Lin-2013" /> Carbon farming could inadvertently cause an increase of land clearing and [[monoculture]]s when species diversity is not a goal of the landscapes project, so there should be attempts to balance the goals of carbon farming and [[biodiversity]] should be attempted.<ref name="Lin-2013" />
+Critics say that the related [[regenerative agriculture]] cannot be adopted enough to matter or that it could lower commodity prices. The impact of increased soil carbon on yield has yet to be settled.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
+Another criticism says that [[No-till farming|no-till practices]] may increase herbicide use, diminishing or eliminating carbon benefits.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+Composting is not an NRCS-approved technique and its impacts on native species and greenhouse emissions during production have not been fully resolved. Further, commercial compost supplies are too limited to cover large amounts of land.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+Carbon farming may consider related issues such as [[groundwater]] and surface water degradation.<ref name="CCI-2021" />
+== Related concepts ==
+=== Climate-smart agriculture ===
+{{excerpt|Climate smart agriculture|paragraphs=1|file=no}}
+=== Blue carbon ===
+{{excerpt|Blue carbon|paragraphs=1|file=no}}
+== By country or region ==
+===Australia===
+In 2011 Australia started a [[Emissions trading|cap-and-trade]] program. Farmers who [[Carbon sequestration|sequester carbon]] can sell [[carbon credit]]s to companies in need of [[carbon offset]]s.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> The country's Direct Action Plan states "The single largest opportunity for {{Chem|CO|2}} emissions reduction in Australia is through bio-sequestration in general, and in particular, the replenishment of our soil carbons." In studies of test plots over 20 years showed increased microbial activity when farmers incorporated organic matter or reduced tillage. Soil carbon levels from 1990 to 2006 declined by 30% on average under continuous cropping. Incorporating organic matter alone was not enough to build soil carbon. [[Nitrogen]], [[phosphorus]] and [[Sulfur|sulphur]] had to be added as well to do so.<ref name="Chan-2013">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/carbon-farming-its-a-nice-theory-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up|title=Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up|last=Chan|first=Gabrielle|date=2013-10-29|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref>
+=== France ===
+The largest international effort to promote carbon farming is "four per 1,000", led by France. Its goal is to increase soil carbon by 0.4% per year through agricultural and forestry changes.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+=== North America ===
+By 2014 more than 75% of [[Canadian Prairies]]' cropland had adopted "conservation tillage" and more than 50% had adopted [[No-till farming|no-till]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Awada|first1=L.|last2=Lindwall|first2=C.W.|last3=Sonntag|first3=B.|date=March 2014|title=The development and adoption of conservation tillage systems on the Canadian Prairies|journal=International Soil and Water Conservation Research|volume=2|issue=1|pages=47–65|doi=10.1016/s2095-6339(15)30013-7|issn=2095-6339|doi-access=free|bibcode=2014ISWCR...2...47A }}</ref> Twenty-five countries pledged to adopt the practice at the December 2015 [[2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference|Paris climate talks]].<ref name="Barth-2016" /> In California multiple [[Conservation district|Resource Conservation Districts]] (RCDs) support local partnerships to develop and implement carbon farming,<ref name="CCI-2021"/> In 2015 the agency that administers California's carbon-credit exchange began granting credits to farmers who compost grazing lands.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> In 2016 [[Chevrolet]] partnered with the [[United States Department of Agriculture|US Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) to purchase 40,000 carbon credits from ranchers on 11,000 no-till acres. The transaction equates to removing 5,000 cars from the road and was the largest to date in the US.<ref name="Barth-2016" /> In 2017 multiple US states passed legislation in support of carbon farming and [[soil health]].<ref name="EcoWatch-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/carbon-farming-2457937143.html|title=6 States Tapping Into the Benefits of Carbon Farming|date=2017-07-12|work=EcoWatch|access-date=2018-04-27|publisher=Center For Food Safety|language=en}}</ref>
+* California appropriated $7.5 million as part of its Healthy Soils Program. The objective is to demonstrate that "specific management practices sequester carbon, improve soil health and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases." The program includes mulching, [[cover crop]]s, [[compost]]ing, [[hedgerows]] and [[buffer strip]]s.<ref name="EcoWatch-2017" /> Nearly half of California counties have farmers who are working on carbon-farming.<ref name="Velasquez-Manoff-2018" />
+* Maryland's Healthy Soils Program supports research, education and technical assistance.<ref name="EcoWatch-2017" />
+* Massachusetts funds education and training to support agriculture that regenerates soil health.<ref name="EcoWatch-2017" />
+* Hawaii created the Carbon Farming Task Force to develop incentives to increase soil carbon content.<ref name="EcoWatch-2017" /> A 250-acre demonstration project attempted to produce biofuels from the [[pongamia]] tree. Pongamia adds nitrogen to the soil. Similarly, one ranch husbands 2,000 head of cattle on 4,000 acres, using [[rotational grazing]] to build soil, store carbon, restore hydrologic function and reduce runoff.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.greenbiz.com/article/turning-dirt-climate-goals-carbon-farming|title=Turning dirt into climate goals via carbon farming|last=Swaffer|first=Miriam|date=2017-07-11|work=GreenBiz|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en}}</ref>
+Other states are considering similar programs.<ref name="EcoWatch-2017" />
-Composting is not an NRCS-approved technique and its impacts on native species and greenhouse emissions during production have not been fully resolved. Further, commercial compost supplies are too limited to cover large amounts of land.<ref name=":6" />
-== Resources ==
-USDA offers a tool called COMET-Farm that estimates a farm's [[carbon footprint]]. Farmers can evaluate various land management scenarios to learn which is the best fit.<ref name=":0" />
 == See also ==
-*[[Agroforestry]]
+* [[Agroforestry]]
-*[[Soil carbon feedback]]
+* [[Carbon sink]]
-* [[Regenerative agriculture]]
+* [[Effects of climate change on agriculture]]
+* [[Effects of climate change on livestock]]
+* [[Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture]]
+* [[Seaweed farming]]
+* [[Soil carbon feedback]]
 == References ==
 {{reflist|30em}}
 == External links ==
-* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zsh2CwAAQBAJ|title=The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security|last=Toensmeier|first=Eric|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|year=2016|isbn=978-1-60358-571-2}}
-* {{Cite web|url=http://cometfarm.nrel.colostate.edu/|title=COMET-Farm|website=cometfarm.nrel.colostate.edu|access-date=2018-04-27}}
 * {{Cite web|url=https://www.marincarbonproject.org/|title=Marin Carbon Project|website=www.marincarbonproject.org|language=en-us|access-date=2018-04-27}}
-* {{Cite journal|last=Oldfield|first=Thomas L.|last2=Sikirica|first2=Nataša|last3=Mondini|first3=Claudio|last4=López|first4=Guadalupe|last5=Kuikman|first5=Peter J.|last6=Holden|first6=Nicholas M.|date=July 2018|title=Biochar, compost and biochar-compost blend as options to recover nutrients and sequester carbon|journal=Journal of Environmental Management|volume=218|pages=465–476|doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.061|pmid=29709815|issn=0301-4797}}
+{{climate change}}
+[[Category:Carbon farming| ]]
 [[Category:Agroecology]]
-[[Category:Carbon farming]]
 [[Category:Sustainable agriculture]]
-[[Category:Carbon capture and sequestration]]
 [[Category:Climate change and agriculture]]