Enhancing Soil Carbon Sequestration to Address Climate Change and Crop Sustainability Concerns

Unmet Need: Natural Rates of Soil Carbon Sequestration are Insufficient to Address Global Climate Change Concerns and Crop Sustainability

Mineral associated carbon is both the most persistent and abundant form of carbon in the global soil carbon pool, estimated at more than 1200 Pg. Despite these large natural mineral associated soil carbon stores known to persist (and exist in a stabilized form) in the subsoil, chronosequence and field experiment studies have shown that the rate of soil carbon accumulation is very slow in natural ecosystems. As a result, natural ecosystems and natural rates of soil carbon accumulation have little (if any) potential for carbon sequestration at the scale and the rate required to address climate change or promote crop sustainability.

The Technology: A Technique to Greatly Enhance Soil Carbon Sequestration

The invention can be used to greatly accelerate and increase the quantity of chemically bound organic carbon to soil minerals at global depths (>30 cm). This process can create new carbon stores that persist over geologic (>1,000 y) timescales. These new carbon stores have the potential to sequester vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere while providing economic growth to lands by sustaining soil fertility. This technology provides a technique to rapidly form the most stable form of soil carbon known to exist in nature to help address climate change and enhance soil carbon levels for crop sustainability.

Applications:

Enhancing soil carbon storage to help address climate concerns and promote soil fertility

Advantages:

Provides benefit to crops by promoting soil fertility
Helps combat climate change by increasing and accelerating soil carbon sequestration
Accessible and practical technique that can be applied in diverse situations

Patent Information:

Provisional patent filed