Soil Respiration and Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a trigger for the activation of all processes of the carbon cycle, including soil respiration (SR), since it causes not only an increase in the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere, but also its fertilization. The consequence of fertilization is the tendency to increase the world’s net primary production of photosynthesis (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration of soils (RH). The increase in global terrestrial carbon sink was accompanied by an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. The global increase in RH is due to global losses of soil organic carbon and is confirmed by models according to which the average residence time of organic carbon in the soil pool has decreased by 4.4 years over the past century. To assess the level of C sequestration in soils, it is necessary to determine the balance between the RH of the soil and the amount of new soil C-sink in the form of net biome production (NBP) – resistant to mineralization. Carbon sink into net ecosystem production (NEP) determines short-term unsustainable carbon sequestration.