Soil Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Mitigation: A Review

Abstract

Climatic variability affect soil ecosystem in so many ways such as increase in rainfall and temperature which determine the rate of soil microbial decomposition of organic materials and influence various activities in soil ecosystem which affect the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) because SOC is vital for soil quality enhancements such as microbial diversity, population and soil fertility. Soil ecosystem serve as a sink and source of carbon depend on the management strategies employed in the area. This paper consist of systematic collections, review and synthesizing the relevant data on the subject matter. The data collected was evaluated and presented in systematic and logical way. The findings revealed that sustainable soil management such as zero tillage, use of organic manure, mulching and planting cover crops would manage and minimizing the release of soil C to the atmosphere. Sustainable soil management practices served as mitigation measures which include zero tillage, use of organic manure, mulching and planting cover crops served as mitigation measures to climate related risk. Soil management reduce climatic effect through SOC sequestration by reducing emission of CO2 and other GHGs. However, soil degradation through practices such as deforestation, excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, mono-cropping, erosion and maximum tillage need to be avoided, therefore, Conversion to a restorative land use and adoption of sustainable management practices were recommended since they create positive C and nutrient budgets, restore soil quality and enhance SOC pool.