Identification of Priority Areas for Cropland Restoration in India Through Agroforestry and Soil Carbon Enrichment

SOC is a crucial driver of plant growth and crop yield in agricultural fields. Croplands worldwide are estimated to potentially sequester the carbon from 0.90 to 1.85 Pg C year−1. Due to excessive and unsustainable usage, Indian soil has depleted nutrient content, including SOC, which in turn is adversely affecting the agricultural yield and lowering carbon stocks. This study focuses on assessing the current state of SOC density distribution in Indian croplands by analyzing SOC stock data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Land use and land cover (LULC) data from ESRI, segmenting according to agro-climatic zones of India. We identified priority cropland areas for SOC restoration and segmented them into ten distinct classes (Deciles). The first six deciles with relatively low SOC levels are priority areas for SOC restoration. The first decile representing the worst SOC density is considered for the agro-forestry option, as it will have the least implications regarding food security trade-offs. We identified about 14 million ha of area for agroforestry options. Hence, we project that these areas will be able to sequester about ~400–500 million tons of additional CO2 in soils by 2050. Next, deciles from second to sixth are considered for SOC enrichment and restoration within cropland-remaining-cropland (CL-CL) land use, projected to yield 800–900 million tons of additional CO2 in soils by 2050. Thus, our identified priority areas for agroforestry and soil carbon enrichment in croplands are projected to yield more than 1300 million tons of additional CO2 in soils by 2050.