Instant Insights: Soil Carbon Sequestration

Dr Cornelia Rumpel is Director of Research in the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the French National Research Center (CNRS) located at Sorbonne University, where she leads a team investigating the fate of organic matter in natural and managed terrestrial ecosystems, including the mechanisms determining soil organic carbon sequestration. Her work deals with temperate and tropical environments and has contributed to the change of several paradigms in this important area. She is also working with industry and at the science policy interphase providing expertise in the areas of land management and climate change.Dr Matthias Kuhnert is an Advanced Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, UK. He is a leading expert in environmental modelling, particularly measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for tracking changes in soil organic carbon in agricultural production. He has published widely in this area and ways of measuring and modelling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from farming. Dr Kuhnert was previously a Research Fellow at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany. He is participating in a range of research projects such as the EU-funded CIRCASA Project.Dr Sylvia Vetter is an Advanced Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, UK and is a member of the School’s Environmental Modelling Group. She is noted for her research focusing on modelling GHG emissions from agriculture and the potential effectiveness of different mitigation options. Dr Vetter was involved in developing the Cool Farm Tool, one of the leading carbon calculation tools used by UK farmers in particular. She was previously Chair of Meteorology at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany.Dr. Oelbermann earned a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Guelph and pursued post-doctoral studies at Cornell University. Currently, she holds the position of Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Her research revolves around the study of carbon and nitrogen transformations in complex agroecosystems, encompassing a wide range of environments from sub-polar to tropical regions. Specifically, she focuses on understanding the functions and processes that govern these transformations in various agricultural systems, such as agroforestry systems and cereal-legume intercrops.

• Chapter 1 - Introduction: soil carbon sequestration – a process linking soils to humanity: C. Rumpel, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Paris, France; 1 Introduction2 Key issues in understanding soil carbon sequestration3 This book4 References Chapter taken from: Rumpel, C. (ed.), Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2022, (ISBN 978 1 80146 969 5)Chapter 2 - Promoting carbon sequestration in soils: the importance of soil, region and context-specific interventions: Rattan Lal, CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, USA; 1 Introduction2 Global distribution of the soil carbon pool among soil types and ecoregions3 Soil carbon persistence4 Temperature sensitivity5 Soil inorganic carbon6 Blue carbon in coastal ecosystems7 Black or pyrogenic carbon8 Frozen carbon and permafrost soils9 Land use and management10 Landscape management11 Salinity management for enhancing soil organic carbon stocks12 Conservation agriculture, cover cropping and agroforestry13 Grazing management14 Nutrient management for sequestration of soil organic carbon15 Carbon sequestration under urban ecosystems16 Conclusion17 Future trends in research18 References Chapter taken from: Rumpel, C. (ed.), Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2022, (ISBN 978 1 80146 969 5)Chapter 3 - Measuring and monitoring soil carbon sequestration: Matthias Kuhnert, Sylvia H. Vetter and Pete Smith, Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK; 1 Introduction2 Measurement/monitoring, reporting and verification3 Existing monitoring, reporting and verification protocols4 Outlook of the use of monitoring, reporting and verification applications5 Conclusion6 Where to look for further information7 References Chapter taken from: Rumpel, C. (ed.), Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2022, (ISBN 978 1 80146 969 5)Chapter 4 - Spectral mapping of soil organic carbon: Bas van Wesemael, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium; 1 Introduction2 Pilot studies of SOC mapping3 Challenges for SOC mapping over large extents4 Synthetic bare soil images5 Case study6 Summary and future trends7 Where to look for further information8 References Chapter taken from: Otten, W. (ed.), Advances in measuring soil health, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2021, (978 1 78676 426 3)Chapter 5 - Assessing the benefits of temperate agroforestry in enhancing carbon sequestration: Augustine K. Osei and Maren Oelbermann, University of Waterloo, Canada; 1 Introduction: moving from conservation to carbon a historical overview2 System-level carbon dynamics in temperate agroforestry3 Projections of potential carbon sequestration in temperate agroforestry systems4 Conclusion and future directions5 Where to look for further information6 References Chapter taken from: Mosquera-Losada, M. R., Ladislau, M., Pantera, A. and Chatrchyan, A. (eds.), Advances in temperate agroforestry, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2025, (ISBN 978 1 80146 719 3)