The role of soil in regulation of climate

Abstract

The soil carbon (C) stock, comprising soil organic C (SOC) and soil inorganic C (SIC) and being the largest reservoir of the terrestrial biosphere, is a critical part of the global C cycle. Soil has been a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) since the dawn of settled agriculture about 10 millenia ago. Soils of agricultural ecosystems are depleted of their SOC stocks and the magnitude of depletion is greater in those prone to accelerated erosion by water and wind and other degradation processes. Adoption of judicious land use and science-based management practices can lead to re-carbonization of depleted soils and make them a sink for atmospheric C. Soils in humid climates have potential to increase storage of SOC and those in arid and semiarid climates have potential to store both SOC and SIC. Payments to land managers for sequestration of C in soil, based on credible measurement of changes in soil C stocks at farm or landscape levels, are also important for promoting adoption of recommended land use and management practices. In conjunction with a rapid and aggressive reduction in GHG emissions across all sectors of the economy, sequestration of C in soil (and vegetation) can be an important negative emissions method for limiting global warming to 1.5 or 2°C This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.

Soil-derived Nature's Contributions to People and their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

“…Previous studies have examined the role of soils in contributing to ecosystem services, showing that soils have a decisive and positive contribution to many [1][2][3][4][5]. Other papers in this special issue [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] have considered each ecosystem service in turn, classified according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Nature's Contributions to People (NCP, [21,22]), thus providing the most comprehensive treatment to date of the role of soils in delivering NCP. Other studies have examined the role of soils in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, [23][24][25][26]), arguing that soils also play a vital role in delivering the SDGs.…”

The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People

“…Nature's contributions to people Lal et al [18] review the role of soils in the regulation of climate, covering greenhouse gas emissions from soils, and the role of soils as sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide, via soil organic and inorganic carbon. Biophysical effects of soil (such as albedo) on climate change are also described.…”

The role of soils in the regulation of air quality

“…CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O are problematic due to their role as greenhouse gases, although N 2 O is also a major stratospheric ozone depleter [17]. By contrast, NH 3 to environments where it could be damaging [18]. NO x and CH 4 can also act as precursors to the production of tropospheric ozone [19], which can lead to respiratory problems and plant damage.…”

“…A detailed discussion of the soil impacts on climate change are covered in Lal et al [3]. However, in the context of soil impacts on air quality, it is worth commenting that global dust emissions are estimated to be the largest source of tropospheric aerosols and can have profound impacts on Earth's biosphere.…”

“…It concerns the filtration, fixation, degradation or storage of pollutants that directly affect human health or infrastructure'. Air quality regulation is essential for achieving SDG2 (zero hunger), SDG3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG13 (climate action) (see [3]) and SDG15 (life on land) [4]).…”