Should France store carbon in agricultural soil to meet reduction targets for carbon dioxide emissions?
A study commissioned by the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development failed to come up with a satisfactory answer but found other benefits in soil carbon sequestration. The study by the French Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) found that while farm soil shows good potential to store carbon, its overall value as a sink for carbon emissions is not as significant when it comes to meeting Kyoto Protocol reduction targets. In terms of environmental benefits, says INRA, soil carbon sequestration should be evaluated according to its combined effects of abating greenhouse gas warming and improving the quality and sustainability of agricultural soil. Organic carbon can be stored for relatively long periods in soil, and represents a significant fraction of the planets total carbon. Some 1500 billion tonnes is estimated to be bound globally to soil – twice the amount present in the atmosphere. France could potentially store three million tonnes of carbon a year over a 20-year p
