Soil carbon sequestration: an innovative strategy for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration

Global warming due to increasing greenhouse gases emission and the subsequent climatic changes are the most serious environmental challenges faced by environmental scientists, academicians, regulatory agencies and policy makers worldwide. Among the various greenhouse gases, CO₂ constitutes a major share and its concentration is increasing rapidly. Therefore, there is perhaps an urgent need to formulate suitable policies and programs that can firmly reduce and sequester CO₂ emissions in a sustainable way. In order to combat the predicted disaster due to rising CO₂ level, several CO₂ capture and storage technologies and medium are being widely pursued and deliberated. Among them soil carbon sequestration (SCS) is gaining global attention because of its stability and role in long-term surface reservoir, natural low cost and eco-friendly means to combat climate change. Apart from the carbon capturing, the process of soil carbon stabilization also provides other tangible benefits that includes achieving food security, by improving soil quality, wasteland reclamation and preventing soil erosion. The present article aimed to address all these concerns and provide strategies and critical research needs to implement SCS as a mitigation option for increasing atmospheric CO₂ level and its future directions.