Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration as a Climate Change Mitigation Activity

Abstract

An unprecedented increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel combustion and land use change necessitates identification of strategies for mitigating the threat of the attendant global warming. However, the challenges of climate change can be effectively overcome by the storage of carbon in terrestrial carbon sinks viz. plants, plant products and soils for longer periods of time. Carbon sequestration in this regard is truly a win–win strategy. It restores degraded soils, enhances biomass production, purifies surface and ground waters, and reduces the rate of enrichment of atmospheric CO2 by offsetting emissions due to fossil fuel. Carbon sequestration is a growing research topic that addresses one important aspect of an overall strategy for carbon management to help mitigate the increasing emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. Thus, terrestrial ecosystems being recognized as an important component of Carbon (C) cycle, have gained importance owing to its potential to sequester carbon. This paper aims at presenting an overview of estimates on carbon sequestration potential of varied terrestrial ecosystems.