Carbon Sequestration via Plant Nutrition Management: Processes and Mechanisms

Global climate change is a major impact of global warming, a critical environmental issue affecting human life and other organisms on the earth. It is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere through GHGs or other pollutants. CO2 is one of the main GHGs causing global warming and accelerating climate change. Nowadays, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is continuously increasing due to natural phenomena like forest fires, the decomposition of organic matter, volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Carbon sequestration is one of the best methods to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It removes and stores carbon (mainly CO2) from the atmosphere into a carbon sink through physical or biological processes. The storage of CO2 in a carbon sink for a long period is managed in such a way that it remains safe and not released back into the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration is done by natural (ocean, soil, forest, etc.) and artificial methods (depleted oil reserves, un-mineable mines, etc.). The terrestrial ecosystem sequestered the carbon of nearly 1.2 billion t C yr−1. Therefore, this chapter will highlight the different processes of carbon sequestration and their mechanisms. Understanding the core mechanisms will help increase the carbon content in soil and improve soil structure, which can further contribute to enhanced crop productivity.