CLIMATE SMART SOIL MANAGEMENT: A WIN-WIN STRATEGY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

The soil system stores twice as much more carbon than the atmosphere and all of the world’s vegetation combined. Exchange of greenhouse gases between the soil and the atmosphere control composition of the earth’s climate. Over the last two centuries, human actions have increased the flux of greenhouse gases from soil to the atmosphere. Recent studies are highlighting the role of soil management to reverse the increasing concentrations of greenhouses in the atmosphere by implementation of climate smart land management practices. This presentation will include discussion on fundamental mechanisms by which soil system controls the earth’s climate, and potential of different land management practices to bend the curve of increasing concentrations of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere.