Quantifying Soil Carbon Sequestration: Textural Effects

Demonstrate that we can accurately quantify changes in soil C content by estimating soil C changes through the use of simulation models.

IPNI-2001-CAN-SK30

10 Apr 2001

Project Description

    The role of CO2 as one of the greenhouse gasses contributing to global warming has now been universally accepted. So too has our need to reduce CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere by sequestering or storing carbon (C) in the soil. Several countries, particularly Canada, USA and Australia, with their large areas of arable land have agreed that the terms of the Kyoto Agreement, currently being debated by the countries of the world, should be modified to allow for inclusion of C sequestered in agricultural soils as a legitimate offset mechanism. But, if this goal is to be accepted, we will need to demonstrate that we can accurately quantify changes in soil C stocks. Although this could be done by making field measurements, this procedure would be tedious, time consuming, and expensive. Most experts in this area accept that a more likely solution is estimate soil C changes through the use of simulation models. However, if compute models are to be used with confidence, we must demonstrate their ability to accurately estimate observed soil C changes.