ARS | Publication request: Ecological value of soil carbon management

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 18, 2010
Publication Date: July 18, 2010
Citation: Franzluebbers, A.J. 2010. Ecological value of soil carbon management [abstract]. Annual Meeting of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, July 18-21, 2010, St. Louis, Missouri.

Technical Abstract: Management of soil carbon is critical to the climate change debate, as well as to the long-term productivity and ecosystem resilience of the biosphere. Soil organic carbon is a key ecosystem property that indicates inherent productivity of land, controls soil biological functioning and diversity, regulates water and nutrient flows, and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions. The enormous ecological value of soil organic carbon suggests that it is a resource that may need to be monetized to simply discourage its dispassionate destruction; for the health of the planet and human society that derives benefit. This presentation outlines the linkages of soil organic carbon with several ecosystem services and details some management strategies to encourage the accumulation of soil organic carbon.