FACTS & FIGURES No Ww 1234578901234578901234578901234578901234578901234578901234578 2 9 3 78901234578901234578901234578901234578901234578901234578901234 Digging Up The Facts On Soil Carbon Sequestration (NAPSA}-—Scientists are warming to a workable solution te reduce global warming. It’s called carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration, sometimes called carbon recycling, is the storage of earbon in the soil, either in agricultural, crop lands, grazing lands, or forests. Here are some facts about the benefits of carbon sequestration that may surprise many Americans. The storage of carbon—carbon retained in plant leaves, branches, stems, and roots and in soils themseives-——offers dual benefits to humans. It fuels plant life, food crops becorne more abundant and it reduces the concentration of carbon in the earth’s atmosphere. sk os ook Scientists believe that a potential now exists to offset significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions by sequestering carbon in the soils of land nowin agricultural production. ok ok ook Pasture lands have the greatest opportunities for increased soil carbon with improved practices such as planting appropriate species, rotational grazing and the application of fertilizers, say experts at the Department of nergy. ok ook ok Grazing lands, comprised of pasture and range lands, represent the Jargest and most diverse single land resource in the U.S. WIN-WIN—The storage of carbon dioxide in plant leaves, roots and the soil helps crops become more abundant and reduces the concentration of carbon In the earth’s atmospheres. and in the world. Grazing land comprises more than half the land surface in the world and 55 percent of the total land in the U.S. Experts at the Environmental Proteetion Agency say there are numerous opportunities for increased soil carbon pool in croplands. The strategy is to adopt recommended management practices that lead to intensification of agriculture. The object is to conserve soil and water and recycle nutrients, and minimize losses due to erosion, leaching and evaporation. Mok ok More information about carbon sequestration is available at www.coZandclimate.org.
