16: Enhancing Carbon Sinks in Natural and Working Lands
- Page ID
- 41712
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)WHENDEE L. SILVER UC Berkeley
- Describe the basic concepts of the terrestrial carbon cycle. You will learn how carbon moves from the atmosphere through plants, to soils, and eventually back to the atmosphere. Understanding the carbon cycle is a critical first step to managing it for carbon capture and storage.
- Explain the role of soils, organic matter, and greenhouse gas dynamics in the carbon cycle. Soils are a hidden part of the carbon cycle but play a key role. Understanding what soil is, how carbon enters and leaves soils, and the controls on greenhouse gas production and consumption will help you understand (and invent) viable carbon removal strategies.
- Describe the role of plants in carbon uptake, storage, and greenhouse gas emissions. Plants are superstars when it comes to removing atmospheric CO2. You will learn how plants act as conduits and reservoirs and how some plants and plant management can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
- Identify potential for emissions reduction on working lands. Remember, carbon removal has to be coupled with emissions reduction to bend the curve. You will use your knowledge gained from earlier chapters to explore ways to reduce emissions from agricultural and forestry activities.
- Describe carbon recovery and sequestration approaches for working lands. How do we get more carbon out of the atmosphere? You will learn how plants and soils can be managed for carbon removal and storage while they support soil and ecosystem sustainability. We will critically examine case studies of management approaches that are already in use. This information should help you use your creativity and knowledge to develop more approaches for the combined emissions reduction, carbon capture, and carbon storage that are needed to bend the curve. The material needed to meet these learning objectives will be delivered in the following six sections:
- 16.1 Natural and Working Lands in the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle
- 16.2 Soils, Organic Matter, and Greenhouse Gas Dynamics
- 16.3 The Role of Plants in Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- 16.4 Emissions Reduction via Management
- 16.5 Soil Carbon Recovery and Sequestration
- 16.6 What Have We Learned So Far?
Note that when it comes to ecosystem management for climate change mitigation, solutions are rarely simple. Ecosystems, by their very nature, are complex interacting, reactive environments. Nothing is static—they are always changing in response to weather (in the short term), climate (in the long term), big events (for example, fires, hurricanes, harvests), and smaller ones (for example, the gradual shifting of species). Thus, ecosystem management requires a systems approach, and it benefits greatly from long-term monitoring and careful observation. Sometimes ecosystem management also involves trade-offs; understanding how ecosystems function and how they respond to change will help us minimize those trade-offs. This chapter will help you understand some of the complexity of ecosystems, where trade-offs are likely to occur, and how to recognize and minimize negative outcomes
Overview
Greenhouse gas emissions reduction is a critical component of any plan to slow climate change. However, we have now reached a point where greenhouse gas emissions reduction alone is insufficient to solve the climate change crisis. The primary reason for this is that CO2 is a long-lived atmospheric gas, meaning that once it arrives in the atmosphere, it is likely to stay there for many years. A small proportion of the CO2 added through human activities can be retained in the atmosphere for thousands of years! This means that climate warming will continue even with greenhouse gas emissions reduction, because the rate of increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 exceeds the rate of background removal. However, if we can increase the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, while at the same time reducing emissions, we have the potential to bend the curve.
The Earth’s system has built-in ways to remove atmospheric CO2. On land, the most important mechanism to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is photosynthesis by plants. Plants, and the soils they live in, are tremendous resources in the battle against climate change. Plants need CO2 to survive and grow, and they have the “machinery” to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. We depend upon plants for food, fiber, fuel, and building materials, so we have perfected plant management—also called photosynthesis management—over thousands of years of practice. Soils have the potential to be deep, long-term repositories of some of the carbon captured by plants, keeping it from returning to the atmosphere for years to decades or longer. Finally, managing plants and soils for carbon uptake and storage often translates into more sustainable and productive practices for people and ecosystems.