RECSOIL: Recarbonization of Global Soils - Seminar. Rosa Cuevas Corona, Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Secretariat.

1. RECARBONIZATION OF GLOBAL SOILS
Ms. Rosa Cuevas
Global Soil Partnership
Unlocking the potential of
soil organic carbon

2. Soil is a valuable natural capital

3. Soil Organic Carbon: the hidden potential

4. Soil organic matter is made up of carbon mostly and
is key for nutrient cycling

5. SOC represents the largest C stock contained in terrestrial ecosystems

6. SOM dynamics in Heilongjiang Province
Morrow Plots, Illinois
Clearing Prairies (natural grassland) for agriculture
Gollany et al, 2011
Ren et al, 2018
long-term rotations experiment in
Uruguay by the Century model
SOC is the second biggest threat to soil functions
• Carbon emissions from LULCC represent the second largest anthropogenic source of
carbon into the atmosphere.
• This emissions are the most uncertain component of the global carbon cycle.

7. Mulching Cover cropping
Integrated Nutrient
Management
Rhizobium
Complex farming
systems
No-till
Sustainable soil managementcan increase SOC stocks on
agricultural lands
Lal, 2017

8. Part of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere can be absorbed by plants
and stored in soils

9. Carbon may be present in thousands of organic compounds and
remain in soils from minutes to thousands of years

10. • Error associated with the experimental design.
• Collection in the field.
• Pretreatment of soil samples and storage.
• Analytical methods that are used in the laboratory (qualitative and quantitative methods).
• Discrepancies to measure SOC.
• Edaphoclimatic factors of SOC accumulation and loss.
• Spatial-temporal variability.
• Statistical bias.
• Soil sampling at global level was not oriented to quantify C stocks.
Measuring SOC, an easy task?
From the field to the data

11. Zhalnina, et al., 2018
Uncertainty associated with behavioural response of soil microbial
communities to climate change

12. Implementation of the
recommendations from
the Global Symposium on
Soil Organic Carbon
(GSOC17)
Preventing further SOC
losses and, where
feasible, providing
incentives to increase
SOC stocks

14. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Remember that
most soil
characterizations
& recommendations
are based on…
Soil analytical
results!

15. GSOC map interpretation

16. Global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential Map
(GSOCseq map)
Low increases in C inputs
(SSM1 scenario)
Medium increases in C inputs
(SSM2 scenario)
High increases in C inputs
(SSM3 scenario)
Projected Soil organic carbon annual increase for 2020-2040 after the adoption of sustainable soil management
practices (SSM)

17. CARBON GAPS
PERMAFROST
INORGANIC CARBON
BLUE CARBON
MRV FARM SCALE

18. Increased SOC content is one of
the most cost-effective options
for:
• Climate change adaptation
and mitigation,
• Combat desertification, land
degradation and food
insecurity.
2019 IPCC’s Special Report on
Climate Change and Land
Koronivia Joint Work on
Agriculture

19. RECARBONIZATION OF GLOBAL SOILS
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION !