Increasing soil carbon sequestration and preventing land-use change
Fertilizers play two essential roles in the fight against climate change: First, they forestall deforestation, as they allow for increased productivity on arable land. They help maintain the integrity of the globe’s forests, which are important carbon sinks.
Second, they also increase the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils by contributing to their building up of soil organic matter (SOM). SOM importantly facilitates higher nutrient uptake by plants, and increased plant growth absorbs more CO2 from the atmosphere. Almost 90 percent of agriculture’s future mitigation potential is based on soil carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration in cultivated soils can be increased by adding appropriate organic and mineral nutrients for biomass production, as well as by reducing tillage, and using cover crops.
In order to maximize carbon sequestration in soil organic matter, the fertilizer industry advocates for the integrated use of available plant nutrients (organic and inorganic) to improve crop and biomass production.
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