Soil Carbon Sequestration for Sustainable Ecosystem
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 230
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil carbon cycling; global climate change; soil carbon sequestration; soil respiration
Interests: soil carbon and nitrogen cycling; global agricultural climate change; soil carbon sequestration; greenhouse gases
Interests: cropping systems; soil carbon sequestration; ecosystem sustainability; life cycle assessment; soil health evaluation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As the largest terrestrial carbon pool, soil organic carbon (SOC) is fundamental to global climate regulation, ecosystem stability, and food security. Widespread SOC loss, driven by land degradation and unsustainable practices, not only exacerbates climate change, but also severely undermines soil health and ecosystem resilience. In this context, enhancing soil carbon sequestration represents a pivotal nature-based solution, offering a synergistic pathway to mitigate atmospheric CO₂ while concurrently enhancing soil fertility, water retention, and agricultural sustainability. This Special Issue, ''Soil Carbon Sequestration for Sustainable Ecosystem", seeks to address critical knowledge gaps by compiling cutting-edge research on the mechanisms, management, and monitoring of SOC dynamics. Our ultimate goal is to advance the scientific foundation needed to unlock the full potential of soils in building a sustainable and climate-resilient future.
Topics of interest in this area include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Mechanisms and Dynamics:
1) Molecular-level understanding of soil organic matter formation, stabilization, and persistence.
2) The interplay between plant roots, rhizosphere processes, and carbon input.
3) Impacts of climate change on SOC decomposition and feedback loops.
2. Management Practices for Carbon Sequestration:
1) Sustainable agricultural practices: Conservation tillage, cover cropping, organic amendments, biochar application, integrated nutrient management, and agroforestry.
2) Improved grazing land management and grassland restoration.
3) Afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable forest management.
4) Restoration of degraded lands.
3. Multi-Scale and Interdisciplinary Approaches:
1) Integration of field observations, remote sensing, and data-driven models for SOC estimation.
2) Machine learning and AI-assisted prediction of soil carbon dynamics under future scenarios.
3) Linking soil carbon processes with ecosystem–atmosphere feedback in Earth system models.
4) National- and regional-scale carbon accounting and mapping.
4. Co-benefits and Socio-Economic Dimensions:
1) Synergies between carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services: soil fertility, water quality, biodiversity conservation.
2) Economic viability and cost-effectiveness of carbon farming practices.
3) Social acceptance, farmer behavior, and policy incentives to promote adoption.
4) Life-cycle assessment of different soil carbon sequestration strategies.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Chao Li
Dr. Pinshang Xu
Dr. Zhenggui Zhang
Dr. Yi Xu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- soil organic carbon
- carbon sequestration
- sustainable land management
- climate change mitigation
- soil health
- ecosystem services
- carbon budgets
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