Potencial de seqüestro de carbono em solos agrícolas sob manejo orgânico para redução da emissão de gases de efeito estufa

Abstract

The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will have serious consequences for all of society. Deforestation and the use of soils for production of food have contributed significantly to increase the emission of greenhouse gases. With objectives to monitor the levels of organic matter and quantify the carbon content of diverse soil units in an organic agriculture research area in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, a study was carried out characterizing annually 12 units of soil, during the period of 1990 to 2000. An increase in the levels of organic matter and carbon in the system was observed. In the soil layer from 0 to 40 cm deep, the carbon content increased from 34.57 t ha -1 to 58.19 t ha -1, with fixation of 23.62 t ha -1 in 10 years, which corresponds to 86.62 t ha -1 of CO 2. It is concluded that agroecological management in an organic production system enables an increase in the level of organic matter of soils by recycling and sequestering atmospheric carbon, confirming the increased potential of organic agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a reduction in global warming.