Resource information
Ensuring food security under changing
climate conditions is one of the major challenges of our
era. Agriculture must not only become increasingly
productive, but must also adapt to climate change while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Soil carbon
sequestration, the process by which atmospheric carbon
dioxide is taken up by plants through photosynthesis and
stored as carbon in biomass and soils, can support these
goals. First, soil carbon enhances agricultural
productivity, which reduces rural poverty; second, it limits
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere; and third,
it reduces the impact of climate change on agricultural
ecosystems. This smart lesson describes the potential
benefits of selected land management technologies that
sequester carbon.
