Land Management for Negative Emissions through Soil Carbon Sequestration and Bioenergy

Humans directly and indirectly manage carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems, especially in temperate and tropical latitudes.  Soil carbon dynamics are highly sensitive to land use changes, whereby altered water and energy flows can shift a site from negative to positive emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, or vice versa.  When quantified at regional scales, projected land management appears to be a viable strategy to achieve measurable negative emissions (e.g. net reduction of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations) while still generating necessary human resources, such as energy and food. Four of these land management options are reviewed here:  wetland restoration, rangeland management, agricultural amendments, and BECCS (BioEnergy and Carbon Capture Systems). Developing a portfolio of regionally-appropriate land management approaches for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions can provide “softer” low-tech solutions applicable globally, that also yield collateral benefits in ecosystem services such as water supplies and wildlife support.