Assessment of carbon sequestration in agriculture and agroforestry systems
Maintaining or enhancing organic carbon is a slow process particularly in tropical regions where rapid decomposition of organic matter results in loss of carbon. Results of a number of experiments conducted in India and abroad conclusively proves the potential, however the rates of sequestration have been low. There is a need to develop location specific management practices for enhancing the carbon stocks for various production systems and studies on strategies for enhancing soil carbon stocks and developing appropriate tree systems are at a nascent stage in India. A number of experiments were initiated in network mode by several organizations in the country and C sequestration potential and C stocks inventory is in progress under NICRA. This bulletin outlines brief overview of carbon sequestration and step by step procedure for quantification of carbon in soils and tree systems in a simple manner.