Integrating terrestrail sequestration into a national greenhouse gas management program

Title	Integrating terrestrail sequestration into a national greenhouse gas management program
Publication Type	Conference Proceedings
Year of Publication	2008
Authors	Brown JR, Sampson N.
Conference Name	American Geophysical Union
Date Published	2008
ARIS Log Number	229440
Keywords	carbon, sequestration, terrestrail
Abstract	Terrestrial sequestration is the deliberate process of storing carbon in the soil or vegetation via the net effect of naturally occurring processes (photosynthesis, leading to storage in plants; humification and aggregation, leading to conversion of plant carbon to soil carbon; and respiration, which returns some plant and soil carbon to the atmosphere as CO2). Removing carbon from the atmosphere via terrestrial sequestration has been proposed as a critical element in the portfolio of actions to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and avoiding undesirable climate change. One benchmark for integrating terrestrial sequestration into a GHG management plan might be to increase sequestration beyond “business-as-usual” levels by an average of about 1-2 PgC/yr during the next 50 years. Assuming this benchmark is accomplished by a linear increase in sequestration rates, the integrated total over 50 years would be 25-50 PgC. Achieving this level of performance will require 1) improvements in existing understanding of sequestering processes, 2) more focused incentive programs to accelerate adoption and maintenance of sequestering practices and 3) an enhanced monitoring and verification effort to insure credibility.