Carbon Sequestration

Scientists estimate that up to 60% of the carbon has been lost from soils since the agricultural expansion of the 1800s. This loss is mostly a result of traditional tillage practices that turn the soil over and expose it to air. Changes in farming practices such as farming with no-till, sustainable grazing of livestock, and grassland and rangeland management optimize root growth and incur minimal soil disturbance. This helps restore and maintain carbon in the soil. These same conservation practices also protect water and air quality because when the soil is held in place by plants it is not eroding into waterways or blowing in the wind.

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle

Carbon cycles between the land and the atmosphere. It is solid when on land and a gas in the atmosphere. When carbon is in solid form, such as in plants, roots, soil, and rock it is called organic carbon. When certain forms of organic carbon, such as those in soil, encounter the air, the carbon is oxidized and forms a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). 

Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. The plants convert the carbon (C) into stems, stalks, leaves, and roots while the oxygen (O2) is released back to the atmosphere. Over time, some of the soluble carbon moves from the roots into the soil where it provides vital nutrients to the growing plant. Because plants are carbon, decaying plants add carbon to the soil, making a good soil amendment for this reason. Even though decaying organic matter releases CO2 to the atmosphere, it does so much more slowly when left undisturbed on or in the soil. When soil is turned over, the carbon is quickly released back into the atmosphere. However, according to researchers, carbon can remain stored in undisturbed soils for thousands of years. 

Learn about Oklahoma's voluntary Carbon Sequestration Verification Program.