Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils through Agronomic Interventions: A Review
G. Madhuri *
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Kaveri University, Siddipet, Telangana, India.
Rajan Ghanghas
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India.
E. Rathinaguru
E. I. D. Parry (I) Ltd., Nellikuppam, Tamil Nadu, India.
Harshita Nagda
Department of Soil Science, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Prakarsh Singh
Department of Agronomy, School of Advanced Agriculture Sciences & Technology, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Varun Tripathi
School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Venkateswara University, Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ananya Priyadarshinee
Department of Soil Science, Bihar Agricultural University, Bihar, India.
Vidhu Dixit
Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Agricultural soils are simultaneously a source of greenhouse gases, a reservoir of organic carbon and a foundation for crop production. Rebuilding soil organic carbon (SOC) through agronomic management is therefore attractive, but sequestration must be distinguished from temporary carbon storage, surface redistribution and displacement of emissions outside the field. This review critically synthesizes evidence on the processes that govern SOC accumulation and stabilization, and evaluates residue management, conservation tillage, cover crops, diversified rotations, organic amendments, integrated nutrient management, agroforestry, water management and rehabilitation of degraded soils. Plant-derived inputs, microbial transformations, mineral associations and aggregation jointly determine whether newly supplied carbon persists. Evidence from meta-analyses indicates that cover cropping and sustained organic inputs often increase SOC, whereas claims of large climate benefits from no-tillage alone require caution because sampling depth, bulk density and operational history influence the apparent response. The article further examines trade-offs involving nitrous oxide, methane, crop yield, competition for water and nutrients, and biomass availability in smallholder systems. A practical framework for measurement, reporting and verification is described, incorporating equivalent soil mass, repeated sampling, depth-resolved carbon stocks, baseline controls and full greenhouse-gas accounting. Special attention is given to India’s contrasting rainfed, irrigated and rice-based farming systems. The review concludes that context-specific combinations of interventions, evaluated over sufficiently long periods and with transparent uncertainty, provide a more credible pathway to climate-resilient soil management than universal sequestration claims.
Keywords: Soil organic carbon, carbon sequestration, conservation agriculture, crop residues, cover crops, crop diversification, organic amendments, biochar, agroforestry, greenhouse-gas accounting, equivalent soil mass