Skip to main content
Log in

Offsetting China's CO2 Emissions by Soil Carbon Sequestration

  • Published:
Climatic Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fossil fuel emissions of carbon (C) in China in 2000 was about 1 Pg/yr, which may surpass that of the U.S. (1.84 Pg C) by 2020. Terrestrial C pool of China comprises about 35 to 60 Pg in the forest and 120 to 186 Pg in soils. Soil degradation is a major issue affecting 145 Mha by different degradative processes, of which 126 Mha are prone to accelerated soil erosion. Similar to world soils, agricultural soils of China have also lost 30 to 50% or more of the antecedent soil organic carbon (SOC) pool.Some of the depleted SOC pool can be re-sequestered through restoration of degraded soils, and adoption of recommended management practices. The latter include conversion of upland crops to multiple cropping and rice paddies, adoption of integrated nutrient management (INM) strategies, incorporation of cover crops in the rotations cycle and adoption of conservation-effective systems including conservation tillage. A crude estimated potential of soil C sequestration in China is 119 to 226 Tg C/y of SOC and 7 to 138 Tg C/y for soil inorganic carbon (SIC) up to 50 years. The total potential of soil C sequestration is about 12 Pg, and this potential can offset about 25%of the annual fossil fuel emissions in China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albrecht, J.: 2002, ‘Introduction’, in Albrecht, J. (ed.), Instruments for Climate Policy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K., pp. 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battelle: 2000, Global Energy Technology Strategy: Addressing Climate Change, Battelle, Univ. of Maryland, MD, 60 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai, Z.: 1996, ‘Effect of Land Use on Organic Carbon Storage in Soils in Eastern China’, Water, Air Soil Pollut. 91, 383–393.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Forest Resource andManagement: 1996, Forest Resources of China 1949–93, Beijing, China.

  • Dregne, H. E. and Chou, N. T.: 1992, ‘Global Desertification Dimensions and Costs’, in Dregne, H. E. (ed.), Degradation and Restoration of Arid Lands, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX, pp. 49–281.

  • Duan, Z. H., Xiao, H. L., Dong, Z. B., He, H. D., and Wang, G.: 2001, ‘Estimate of Total CO2 Output from Desertified Sand Land in China’, Atmos. Environ. 35, 5915–5921.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erda, L., Yunfen, L., and Yue, L.: 1997, ‘Agricultural Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China’, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 49, 295–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang, J., Chen, A., Peng, C., Zhao, S., and Ci, L.: 2001, ‘Changes in Forest Biomass Carbon Storage in China between 1949 and 1998’, Science 292, 2320–2322.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO: 1998, Fertilizer Yearbook, Vol. 48, FAO, Rome, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng, Q., Endo, K. N., and Guodong, C.: 2002, ‘Soil Carbon in Desertified Land in Relation to Site Characteristics’, Geoderma 106, 2–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Follett, R. F., Kimble, J. M., and Lal, R.: 2001, ‘The Potential of U.S. Grazing Land to Sequester Soil Carbon’, in Follett, R. F., Kimble, J. M., and Lal, R. (eds.), The Potential of U.S. Grazing Lands to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect, CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 401–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, L. S., Kimble, J. M., Birdsey, R. A., and Lal, R.: 2002, ‘The Potential of U.S. Forest Soils to Sequester Carbon’, in Kimble, J. M., Heath, L. S., Birdsey, R. A., and Lal, R. (eds.), The Potential of U.S. Forest Soils to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect, CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 385–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, J.: 2000, Erosion and Salinization, Chinese Center for Agric. Policy, Chinese Academy of Agric. Sciences, Beijing.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC: 2000, Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry, IPCC Special Report, Cambridge Univ. Press, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC: 2001, Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis, Cambridge Univ. Press, U.K., 881 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R.: 1995, ‘Global Soil Erosion by Water and Carbon Dynamics’, in Lal, R., Kimble, J. M., Levine E., and Stewart B. A. (eds.), Soils and Global Change, CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 131–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R.: 2001, ‘World Cropland Soils as Source or Sink for Atmospheric Carbon’, Adv. Agron. 71, 145–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R.: 2002, ‘Soil Carbon Sequestration in China through Agricultural Intensification and Restoration of Degraded and Desertified Ecosystems’, Land Degrad. & Dev. 13, 469–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R., Kimble, J. M., Follett, R. F., and Cole, C. V.: 1998, The Potential of U.S. Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect, Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, MI, 128 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. and Lindstrom, M. J.: 2001, ‘Evaluating Soil Quality-Soil Redistribution Relationship on Terraces and Steep Hillslope’, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 65, 1500–1508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindert, P. H.: 2000, Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 351 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • N.E.T.: 1998, Leadership and Equity: The United States, Developing Countries and GlobalWarming, National Environment Trust, Washington, D.C., 68 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ni, J.: 2001, ‘Carbon Storage in Terrestrial Ecosystems of China: Estimates at Different Spatial Resolutions and their Response to Climate Change’, Clim. Change 49, 339–358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ni, J.: 2002, ‘Carbon Storage in Grasslands of China’, J. Arid Env. 50, 205–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pan, G. and Guo, T.: 2000, ‘Pedogenic Carbonate of Aridic Soils in China and its Significance in Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Systems’, in Lal,R.,Kimble, J. M.,Eswaran,H., and Stewart, B. A. (eds.), Global Climate Change and Pedogenic Carbonates, CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, 135–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, C. H. and Apps, M. J.: 1997, ‘Contributions of China to the Global Carbon Cycle since the Last Glacial Maximum: Reconstruction from Palaeo Vegetation Maps and an Empirical Biosphere Model’, Tellus 4913, 393–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quine, T. A.,Walling, D. E., Chakela, Q. K., Mandiringana, O. T., and Zhang, X.: 1999b, ‘Rates and Patterns of Tillage and Water Erosion on Terraces and Contour Strips: Evidence from Cs-137 Measurements’, Catena 36, 115–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quine, T. A.,Walling, D. E., and Zhang, X.: 1999a, ‘Tillage Erosion,Water Erosion and Soil Quality on Cultivated Terraces near Xifeng in the Loess Plateau, China’, Land Degrad. & Dev. 10, 251-274.

  • Schlesinger, W. H.: 1997, Biogeochemistry: An Analyses of Global Change, 2nd edn., Academia Press, San Diego, CA, 588 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • SEPA: 1998, Yearly Report on Environmental Statistics, State Environment Protection Administration, Env. Sci. Press, Beijing, China.

  • UNEP: 1992, World Atlas of Desertification, United Nations Environment Program, Nairobi, Kenya, Arnold, London, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank: 2001, China: Air, Land and Water; Environmental Practices for a NewMillennium, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., 149 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Watch Institute: 2002, Worldwatch News Brief 99–5, Washington, D.C.

  • Xiaoning, T., Baoli, A., Xiufeng,W., and Jing, N.: 2002, 'Soil Improvement of Seabuckthorn Plantations and its Characteristics of the Roots in Loess Plateau’, 12th ISCO Conference, 26-31 May, Beijing, China, Vol. III, 403–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiubin, H., Fenli, Z., Cheng Z., and Keli, T.: 2002, 'Structural Indicator Response of Soil Quality to Forestry Cultivation on the Loess Plateau of China’, 12th ISCO Conference, 26-31 May, Beijing, China, Vol. IV, 227–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuanda, Z., Qiangguo C., and Guangyuan, Z.: 2002, 'Soil Carbon and Nutrient Changes under Soil Erosion and GIS-Based Simulation’, 12th ISCO Conference, 26-31 May, Beijing, China, Vol. IV, 212–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yusheng, Y., Jingsheng, X., Miaohua J., and Guangshui, C.: 2002, 'Effects of Rehabilitation Measures on Properties of the Severely Eroded Lateritic Red Soil in Southeastern Fujian, China’, 12th ISCO Conference, 26-31 may, Beijing, China, Vol. II, 138–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, X. M.: 1984, ‘Land Resource Development and Conservation of the Chinese Loess Plateau’, Geogr. Sci. 2, 97–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Z. L. and Wen, Q. X. (eds.): 1992, Nitrogen in Soils of China(in Chinese), Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House, Nanjing, 5 pp.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lal, R. Offsetting China's CO2 Emissions by Soil Carbon Sequestration. Climatic Change 65, 263–275 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000038203.81854.7c

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000038203.81854.7c

Keywords

Navigation