Carbon farming has the potential to mitigate climate change by reducing green house gas emissions associated with agriculture and increasing carbon sequestration. It also has co-benefits such as improving soil health, increasing bio diversity and enhancing ecosystems services. Wetland restoration is an effective carbon farming strategy as wetlands are natural carbon sinks that store large amounts of carbon.
Carbon farming practices
Integrating trees into agricultural landscapes to sequester carbon and improves soil health, this trees in agroforestry systems store carbon in their trunks branches and leaves through photosynthesis, the roots also help to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion which can further increase the soils ability to store carbon additionally leaves that fall can serve as organic matter which can enhance soil fertility and increase carbon storage in the soil.
Conservation agriculture
Conservation agriculture is a set of practices that aims to improve soil health and reducing soil erosion while also promoting carbon sequestration in the soil, this practices include minimizing soil disturbance, maintaining soil cover and rotating crops. Grazing management can play an important role in carbon farming by increasing the amount of carbon stored in soil and vegetation, reducing green house emissions and improving the ecosystem health, grazing management practices such as rotational grazing, rest and recovery reduced grazing intensity species selection can increase carbon sequestration.
Wetland restoration is an effective carbon farming strategy as wetlands are natural carbon sinks that store large amounts of carbon, restoring degraded wetlands or creating new ones and using them to maximize carbon sequestration can help reverse carbon loss caused by wetland degradation. Biochar is a potential tool for carbon farming which involves using farming and land management practices to sequester carbon in the soil.
