Current and emerging methodologies for estimating carbon sequestration in agricultural soils: A review

Abstract

This review covers the current and emerging analytical methods used in laboratory, field, landscape and regional contexts for measuring soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agricultural soil. Soil depth plays an important role in estimating SOC sequestration. Selecting appropriate sampling design, depth of soil, use of proper analytical methods and base line selection are prerequisites for estimating accurately the soil carbon stocks. Traditional methods of wet digestion and dry combustion (DC) are extensively used for routine laboratory analysis; the latter is considered to be the “gold standard” and superior to the former for routine laboratory analysis. Recent spectroscopic techniques can measure SOC stocks in laboratory and in-situ even up to a deeper depth. Aerial spectroscopy using multispectral and/or hyperspectral sensors located on aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or satellite platforms can measure surface soil organic carbon. Although these techniques' current precision is low, the next generation hyperspectral sensor with improved signal noise ratio will further improve the accuracy of prediction. At the ecosystem level, carbon balance can be estimated directly using the eddy-covariance approach and indirectly by employing agricultural life cycle analysis (LCA). These methods have tremendous potential for estimating SOC. Irrespective of old or new approaches, depending on the resources and research needed, they occupy a unique place in soil carbon and climate research. This paper highlights the overview, potential limitations of various scale-dependent techniques for measuring SOC sequestration in agricultural soil.