Expediting climate-smart soils management

Abstract

Soil represents the largest carbon pool in the terrestrial system, storing up to 5 times as much carbon as in the atmosphere. The number of annual publications pertaining to both soil and climate change has grown 18-fold between 2001 and 2020, on average now accounting for 18.6% of all publications relating to climate change. Despite the significance of the soil system in combating climate change and a growing body of scientific knowledge, international negotiations, including COP26 that has just been held in Glasgow, UK, tend to overlook the role that soil must play in combating climate change. The importance of soil systems is multi-faceted in a world of changing climate conditions. The most vulnerable population facing climate change tend to be smallholder farmers whose living depends on healthy and productive soil. Climate adaptation initiatives and financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries must put this as a high priority. On the other hand, soil renders high potential in carbon sequestration, and soil amendments like biochar are particularly promising as a carbon-negative technology. However, the cost of producing biochar on a large scale must be significantly reduced in order to make it commercially viable. Soil also represents a significant source of greenhouse gases besides carbon dioxide. Technologies must be further developed to ensure food production and food security, while effectively reducing the emission of methane and nitrous oxide from agricultural soils. We conclude that expediting sustainable and climate-smart soil management is an imperative in mitigating and adapting to global climate change.