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Review | Open Access

Carbon Footprints

Lal. Carbon Footprints 2026, 5, 10 DOI:10.20517/cf.2025.123

Soil carbon sequestration and its role in reducing
global carbon footprints: strategies, challenges and
policy implications

Rattan Lal

Keywords:
Farm operations,
agro-ecosystems, best
management practices,
hidden C cost, use efficiency
of inputs, carbon footprint,
ecosystem footprint

Citation: Lal, R. Soil carbon
sequestration and its role in
reducing global carbon
footprints: strategies,
challenges and policy
implications. Carbon
Footprints 2026, 5, 10.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517
/cf.2025.123

Received: 22 Dec 2025 Abstract
First Decision: 13 Jan
2026 Food systems account for about 30% of anthropogenic emissions, of which agriculture
Revised: 23 Jan 2026 contributes 12%-14%. Agro-ecosystems have large ecological footprints (EFP). Thus, the
Accepted: 27 Jan 2026 objective of the review is to examine land-use and management practices that can reduce
Published: 5 Mar 2026
EFP and sequester carbon (C) in soil. Decomposition of soil organic matter is accelerated
Academic Editor: by plow tillage and on-farm burning of crop residues. Livestock are also a source of CH 4
Xiaogang Yin through enteric fermentation and manure management. Approaches to reducing the global
Copy Editor: EFP of agroecosystems are discussed with the objective of adaptation and mitigation of
Fangling Lan
Production Editor: anthropogenic climate change. Sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in soil,
Fangling Lan as soil organic carbon and soil inorganic carbon, can offset emissions. Examples of best
management practices include conservation agriculture, judicious use of chemicals, drip
fertigation, agroforestry, improved livestock grazing and manure management. The rate of
C sequestration varies widely depending on soil, climate, and management. Soils of
agroecosystems have the potential to sequester 4 to 10 Pg CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 eq) per
year (Pg = petagram = 10 g = 1 giga ton or Gt = 1 billion metric ton). However, the gross
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rate of C sequestration in soil varies among soils, eco-regions and management. The EFP of
agro-ecosystems can be reduced by enhancing use efficiency of inputs, decreasing leakage
of chemicals into the environment, conserving soil and water, and adopting regenerative
agriculture. The importance of C farming and approaches to its adoption are discussed as

CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Rattan Lal, CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210 USA. E-mail: lal.1@osu.edu

www.oaepublish.com Submit a Manuscript: https://ucenter.oaepublish.com