Description
Book SynopsisThis book brings together the essential evidence and policy opportunities regarding the global importance of soil carbon for sustaining Earth's life support system for humanity. Covering the science and policy background for this important natural resource, it describes land management options that improve soil carbon status and therefore increase the benefits that humans derive from the environment. Written by renowned global experts, it is the principal output from a SCOPE rapid assessment process project.
Table of ContentsI: Foreword II: Acknowledgements III: Executive Summary Part I: Introduction, Overview and Integration 1: The global challenge for soil carbon 2: Soil carbon, a critical natural resource: Wide-scale goals, urgent actions 3: Soil carbon transition curves: reversal of land degradation through management of soil organic matter for multiple benefits 4: From potential to implementation: An innovation framework to realise the benefits of soil carbon 5: A strategy for taking soil carbon into the policy arena Part II: Soil Carbon in Earth’s Life Support System 6: Soil formation 7: Soil carbon dynamics and nutrient cycling 8: Soil hydrology and reactive transport of carbon and nitrogen in a multi-scale landscape Part III: The Multiple Benefits of Soil Carbon 9: Climate change mitigation 10: Soil carbon and agricultural productivity: Perspectives from sub-Saharan Africa 11: Soil as a support of biodiversity and functions 12: Water supply and quality 13: Wind erosion of agricultural soils and the carbon cycle 14: Historical and sociocultural aspects of soil organic matter and soil organic carbon benefits 15: The economic value of soil carbon Part IV: Quantification and Reporting of Soil Carbon 16: Measuring and monitoring soil carbon 17: Modelling soil carbon 18: Valuation approaches for soil carbon Part V: Influence of Human Activity on Soil Carbon 19: Current soil carbon loss and land degradation globally: Where are the hotspots and why there? 20: Climate change and soil carbon impacts 21: Impacts of land-use change on carbon stocks and dynamics in central-southern South American biomes: Cerrado, Atlantic forest and southern grasslands. Part VI: Managing Soil Carbon for Multiple Benefits 22: Basic principles of soil carbon management for multiple ecosystem benefits 23: Managing soil carbon for multiple ecosystems benefits: positive exemplars – Latin America 24: Managing soil carbon for multiple benefits: positive exemplars - North America 25: Managing soil carbon in Europe: paludicultures as a new perspective for peatlands 26: Managing soil organic carbon for multiple benefits: The case of Africa 27: Benefits of SOM in agro-ecosystems: A case of China 28: Assessment of organic carbon status in Indian soils Part VII: Governance of Soil Carbon 29: Policy frameworks 30: National implementation case study: China 31: Avoided land degradation and enhanced soil C storage: Is there a role for carbon markets?
