FAO.org

Soil carbon stocks are vital for food production and climate change mitigation

Marking World Soil Day, FAO today ( 5 December 2017) has launched the most comprehensive global map to date showing the amount of carbon stocks in the soil. Soil organic matter, with carbon as its main component, is crucial to soil health and fertility, water infiltration and retention as well as food production. As a major carbon storage system, conserving and restoring soils are essential for both sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation. The world’s soils act as the largest terrestrial carbon sink, reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Intensifying this role could significantly offset the rapid