An Overview on Carbon Sequestration-As Influenced by Different Cropping and Land Use Systems

Soils are the largest reservoirs of the terrestrial carbon. Soil, if managed properly, can serve as a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. As globally the atmospheric CO₂ concentration continues to increase, more attention is being focused on the soil when assumed as sink for atmospheric CO₂. There is every possibility that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration will increase in the near future and under such circumstances, soil will remain a potent sink for atmospheric carbon-dioxide. Soil carbon presumes an important factor which has direct influence on productivity of low input farming systems and in assessing the soil health. It is the key to soil fertility. Soil carbon sequestration is the process of transferring carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil through crop residues and other organic solids, in a form that is not immediately remitted. This process is primarily mediated by plants through photosynthesis, with carbon stored in the form of SOC. In arid and semiarid climates, soil carbon sequestration can also occur from the conversion of CO₂ from air into inorganic forms in soils as secondary carbonates, however, the rate of inorganic carbon formation is comparatively low.