Soil Carbon Sequestration for Climate Change Mitigation: Some Implications to Egypt

Abstract

The soil is the largest terrestrial carbon (C) stock, and those factors that affect C retention and release also influence on atmospheric CO2 levels. Soil C sequestration represents about 90% of the total mitigation practices of climate change and about 10% of emission reduction. There is a great concern of soil carbon (C) sequestration and its role in absorbing atmospheric CO2 not only because of its impacts on climate change mitigation but also because of its positive impacts on the sustainability of crop productivity, soil fertility and soil quality. Cultivation has resulted in considerable loss of soil C due to chemical and biological decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC), as well as erosion by wind and water. However; in carefully managed croplands, soil C sequestration can be substantial and represents a potentially constructive portion for mitigating the increased levels of atmospheric CO2. There is a general agreement that many agricultural ecosystems have a huge potential to sequester carbon in the soil, which could decrease CO2 concentrations in the air and mitigate its global emissions. Egyptian soils are low in their C content. Thus its potential to sequester C is high. Therefore, good management practices should be considered for enhancing soil C sequestration in Egyptian soils especially in degraded and desert soil.