CARBON IN DRYLAND SOILS Multiple essential functions
The carbon cycle has been a core environmental issue in recent decades, especially regarding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For many years, carbon was only considered through the lens of global warming mitigation via the reduction of concentrations of atmospheric CO2, a major greenhouse gas* (GHG). Political responses were thus focused mainly on industrial, transportation and energy sectors—major GHG emitters. C ou nt r y c onc er n s, a s ref le c te d i n re sea rch programmes, were therefore initially focused on greenhouse gas fluxes: quantification of global fluxes, identification and quantification of GHG sources and sinks (storage process), and especially the reduction of carbon emission sources and the increase in sinks**. Forest initiatives were also accounted for, but secondarily, via carbon sequestration in woody biomass. Agriculture and soil carbon were, however, overlooked in international negotiations. More recently, following the publication of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001 and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005, ecosystem vulnerability took a more pivotal position in scientific and public discussions and issues. Soil vulnerability to climate change, i.e. the vulnerability of organisms they contain or support, their functioning in the ecosystem and thus the services they provide (e.g. erosion control, see next page), is poorly understood. Few studies have focused on the post-disturbance sensitivity and recovery potential of ecosystem services and functions related to the carbon cycle (essential in soil functioning), at plot or more general levels, especially in highly vulnerable dryland regions.
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CARBON IN DRYLAND SOILS Multiple essential functions
Author(s):
Bernoux Martial, Chevallier Tiphaine
Publication Date: 2014
Location: Sahel, Africa
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The carbon cycle has been a core environmental issue in recent decades, especially regarding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For many years, carbon was only considered through the lens of global warming mitigation via the reduction of concentrations of atmospheric CO2, a major greenhouse gas* (GHG). Political responses were thus focused mainly on industrial, transportation and energy sectors—major GHG emitters. C ou nt r y c onc er n s, a s ref le c te d i n re sea rch programmes, were therefore initially focused on greenhouse gas fluxes: quantification of global fluxes, identification and quantification of GHG sources and sinks (storage process), and especially the reduction of carbon emission sources and the increase in sinks**. Forest initiatives were also accounted for, but secondarily, via carbon sequestration in woody biomass. Agriculture and soil carbon were, however, overlooked in international negotiations. More recently, following the publication of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001 and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005, ecosystem vulnerability took a more pivotal position in scientific and public discussions and issues. Soil vulnerability to climate change, i.e. the vulnerability of organisms they contain or support, their functioning in the ecosystem and thus the services they provide (e.g. erosion control, see next page), is poorly understood. Few studies have focused on the post-disturbance sensitivity and recovery potential of ecosystem services and functions related to the carbon cycle (essential in soil functioning), at plot or more general levels, especially in highly vulnerable dryland regions.
