Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agro-ecosystems: Mechanisms, Management, and the Role in Climate Change Mitigation

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.106.5

Abstract:
Soils represent one of the largest terrestrial carbon reservoirs, and the improved management of soil organic carbon (SOC) offers considerable potential for mitigating climate change, enhancing soil health, and improving agricultural productivity. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the dynamics and mechanisms of SOC storage, key environmental and land-use factors influencing it, agronomic and chemical management strategies for enhancing sequestration in agro-ecosystems, the limitations and uncertainties in quantifying its role for greenhouse-gas (GHG) mitigation, and the policy and research outlook for scaling up soil-based climate solutions. While the potential is significant, the saturation risk, measurement challenges, trade-offs, and context-specificity must be recognized. For semi-arid and dryland systems in particular, integrating SOC-based management into sustainable intensification pathways will require region-specific calibration, long-term monitoring, and alignment with socio-economic incentives.

Keywords:
Soil organic carbon, sequestration, climate change mitigation, agro-ecosystems, semi-arid, soil health, management practices

Article Info:
Received: 07 Oct 2025; Received in revised form: 10 Nov 2025; Accepted: 14 Nov 2025; Available online: 19 Nov 2025

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