Keeping carbon dioxide in the ground.

On the one side, our society plans to spend large amounts of money for industrial underground storage of CO₂ from fossil fuels, on the other hand we often forget how much CO₂ can be mopped up by natural ecosystems, or kan be kept in the ground by relatively cheap measures in agriculture or forestry. For instance, the growth of forests sequesters CO₂ in wood and soil organic matter. In Northern and Western Europe, the conservation of peat soils is a major issue. Often, these peat soils are intensively used by agriculture, for instance in the Netherlands.

Soil carbon loss can be mitigated, or is even reversible into long term sequestration of CO₂ given the right management. But this management needs verification of its effectiveness. For instance re-wetting of peat can cause higher methane emissions, depending on the type of vegetation and management. Verification of effectiveness of soil management needs consideration of all greenhouse gases, the greenhouse gas emission of past and future land use, and the use and life cycle of agricultural products involved.

Kytalyk Carbon Cycle Research can provide science-based advice. We can verify the actual greenhouse exchange by measurements. Another instruments is model building (Peatland-VU) to predict the effects of water management in peatlands on greenhouse gas emission.