Soil Ecosystem Services and the Greenhouse Gas Emission and Cycling

Soil ecosystem services (SEC) are the benefits provided by soil that support life on Earth. Nutrient cycles are an important part of SEC, but human activities can disrupt the input-output of nutrients from soil to atmosphere and vice versa. This can lead to the deposition or emission of large quantities of different nutrient forms in the soil or atmosphere, affecting environmental sustainability. Different types of GHGs are emitted from different sources, mainly fossil fuel combustion and industrialization. However, agriculture also contributes significantly to GHG emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). CO2 and CH4 are released to the atmosphere during the oxidation of organic matter (OM) in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively, while N2O is released during nitrogen (N) mineralization. These emissions are a natural part of nutrient cycling, but agriculture and other human activities can increase them to unsustainable levels. Due to this, carbon emitted from soil has increased to 320 PgC, CH4 emissions by 49% and N2O emissions by 30%, which is an alarming situation. For example, excessive use of inorganic fertilizers, faulty land management practices, and land use changes can all stimulate the emission of GHGs from soil. This is a serious concern because it contributes to global climate change. Carbon sequestration processes can be used to mitigate GHG emissions from soil. Soil restoration and soil provisioning services are also vital to reducing GHG emissions and maintaining environmental sustainability. In this chapter, GHGs emitted from the agricultural sector are discussed, and different mitigation measures are mentioned relating to the soil ecosystem to reduce the emission of GHGs.