May 21, 2007 Storing carbon in agricultural soils presents an
immediate option to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide and slow
global warming. Farmers who adopt practices that store carbon in
soil may be able to "sell" the stored carbon to buyers seeking
to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Before farmers can sell
carbon credits, however, they need to be able to verify that
changing soil management has increased the soil organic carbon
(SOC) in their fields. Researchers at Montana and Colorado State
Universities now have evidence that a soil model can be used to
accurately estimate carbon levels in soil under certain climate
and land conditions. By using this model, farmers and landowners
will be able to verify soil carbon change for carbon trading.
Scientists report their findings on the reliability of the
Century soil model in the May-June 2007 issue of the Soil
Science Society of America Journal. "The Century model estimates
soil organic carbon content and soil organic carbon change using
soil texture, weathe