Soil Carbon Sequestration: Myths, Realities, and the Biden Administration’s Proposals

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Soil carbon sequestration has gained traction within the Biden administration as a way for farmers to reduce or even reverse U.S. agriculture’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To advance this technology, Congress proposed the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act, which is intended to help farmers participate in voluntary markets that pay them to store carbon in the soil. Despite bold claims, the science is mixed on whether soil carbon sequestration is a viable climate solution, particularly in terms of the quantity of carbon that can be stored and for how long. Q1: What is soil carbon sequestration? A1: In simple terms, soil carbon sequestration happens when plants capture and store, or “sequester,” atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the soil, increasing the quantity of soil carbon stocks. Decaying plant matter, along with the carbon it contains, becomes part of the soil for a period of time before it is broken down by microbes, releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere. The l

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Soil Carbon Sequestration: Myths, Realities, and the Biden Administration’s Proposals

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