TY - JOUR TI - Managing soils for negative feedback to climate change and positive impact on food and nutritional security AU - Lal, Rattan T2 - Soil Science and Plant Nutrition AB - The increase in atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide from 278 ppm in the pre-industrial era to 405 ppm in 2018, along with the enrichment of other greenhouse gases, has already caused a global mean temperature increase of 1°C. Among anthropogenic sources, historic land use and conversion of natural to agricultural eco-systems has and continues to be an importance source. Global depletion of soil organic carbon stock by historic land use and soil degradation is estimated at 133 Pg C. Estimated to 2-m depth, C stock is 2047 Pg for soil organic carbon and 1558 Pg for soil inorganic carbon, with a total of 3605 Pg. Thus, even a small change in soil organic carbon stock can have a strong impact on atmospheric CO2 concentration. Soil C sink capacity, between 2020 and 2100, with the global adoption of best management practice which creates a positive soil/ecosystem C budget, is estimated at 178 Pg C for soil, 155 Pg C for biomass, and 333 Pg C for the terrestrial biosphere with a total CO2 drawdown potential of 157 ppm. Important among techniques of soil organic C sequestration are adoption of a system-based conservation agriculture, agroforestry, biochar, and integration of crops with trees and livestock. There is growing interest among policymakers and the private sector regarding the importance of soil C sequestration for adaptation and mitigation of climate change, harnessing of numerous co-benefits, and strengthening of ecosystem services. DA - 2020/// PY - 2020 DO - 10.1080/00380768.2020.1718548 VL - 66 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 9 SN - 17470765 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.2020.1718548 KW - Soil carbon KW - anthropocene KW - historic carbon loss from soils KW - international initiatives on soil carbon sequestra KW - soil carbon sink ER -