Biological strategies for enhanced carbon storage in agricultural soils Date: 27 May 2011 Venue: Wellcome Collection, London
This is a workshop led by: - Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with co-support from: - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - The Scottish Government Under the auspices of the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) Partnership. Rationale for this workshop *The world's soils hold twice the carbon that exists in the atmosphere. Soil with appropriate land management thus has huge attractions as a carbon sink. * Discussions at the Copenhagen summit in December 2009 identified carbon capture by soil as the only carbon sink that was "ready to go" on a global scale. However, the regulation of the carbon cycle for soil is complex, in part due to numerous interactions between plant roots, their exudates and soil microbes and microfauna, and their interactions with other nutrient cycles. There thus remain considerable uncertainties around impacts and the potential for net sequestration of carbon via the many specific possibilities for intervention. This workshop will explore the nature of interactions within the *atmosphere-plant-microbe-soil continuum*, aimed at improving understanding of the *potential for biological strategies to enhance soil carbon storage for* *greenhouse gas mitigation*. In doing so, it will draw upon the considerable expertise and experience gained in allied research on unmanaged soil systems. The agenda will also cover: - Implications for agricultural land management practices and policies - The tensions of soil carbon storage aims set against other land use demands We hope to identify key scientific opportunities and challenges, and determine where there are specific needs to foster further activity in this area. http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/events/1105-biological-strategies-for-carbon-storage.aspx -- O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O Oliver Morton Energy and Environment Editor The Economist +44 7971 064 059 O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O O=C=O -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
