Let's Create Sustainability Through Soil Carbon Storage!

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas which impacts the earth through enforcing climate change, and agriculture may be able to decrease this environmental impact. The “4 per 1000” is an initiative first proposed on December 1st, 2015 which is working to encourage stakeholders of the public and private sectors to make changes towards sustainable agriculture. Each of these stakeholders are prompted to do what they can in terms of implementing practices which will increase soil carbon storage, whether this be through agroecology, landscape management, or any other sector. This new sustainable agriculture which will emerge out of these combined practices will be resilient due to the correct management of soil and land which will subsequently create sustainable jobs. 

Now, it is important to understand the relationship between carbon in the air and in the soil and how this relates to “4 per 1000” initiative. Specifically, the higher the amount of carbon which is trapped in the soil, the lower the amount of carbon which is in the atmosphere and affecting climate change, consequently decreasing the effect of climate change. This initiative seeks to create a 0.4% (or 4 per 1000) growth rate of carbon in soil stocks per year in the first 30-40 cm of soil. This increase of carbon in the soil would decrease the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere which is caused by humans.

Another important element of this initiative is understanding the way that carbon is processed by plants and microorganisms. Plants take in and use CO2 in order to go through the process of photosynthesis, and this use consists of approximately 30% of the existing CO2 every year. When these plants die, microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi turn these plants into carbon-rich organic matter in the soil. This matter is then necessary for plant growth and human nutrition, which therefore means that more carbon in the soil allows for better and sustainable plant growth (food security) and human nutrition as well as a decrease in the effect of climate change since this increase will also mean a decrease of the CO2 in the atmosphere. In order to further understand the importance of this organic matter, a closer look can be given to the ecosystem services which this matter performs. This matter helps with resistance to soil erosion, soil water retention (which is necessary for plant growth and therefore human nutrition), soil fertility for plants, and soil biodiversity. These services clearly show how this carbon-rich organic matter is necessary if this “4 per 1000” initiative is going to be successful.

The question now is what will it actually take to increase this carbon storage and organic matter? The initiative proposes some specific farming practices which would induce this increase in carbon storage in the soil. These include using no-till methods, introducing intermediate crops, row cropping and grass strips, combining livestock and crop productions, improving water management, and using organic fertilizers and composts. If these practices are utilized together and across the whole globe, increasing the carbon storage by 0.4% can be plausible and even a reality. These are the steps which must be taken in order to stop the annual increase of CO2 into the atmosphere and to work towards living a globally sustainable life.