This publication contains a methodology and software tools for assessing carbon stocks and modelling scenarios of carbon sequestration developed and tested in pilot field studies in Mexico and Cuba. The models and tools enable the analysis of land use change scenarios in order to identify in a given area (watershed or district) land use alternatives and land management practices that can both maximise food production, soil carbon sequestration and biodiversity and minimize land degradation. The aims is to develop and implement "win-win" options that satisfy the multiple goals of farmers, land users and other stakeholders in relation to food security, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and land conservation. The publication also contains a CD-ROM including three case studies and a Soil-C program demo, program and user manual.

Soil carbon sequestration and preservation of present stocks reduces net global greenhouse gas emission and can contribute significantly to both Nordic and international goals of limiting serious climate change. In order to achieve this, sustainable use of soil resources, better soil and water management practices, and restoration of degraded soils is needed. Protection and restoration of soil organic carbon are also key solutions to many of the most pressing global challenges facing mankind today. Highlighting the importance of the soil and the multiple benefits of soil organic carbon sequestration has never been more needed than now.

A comprehensive book on basic processes of soil C dynamics and the underlying factors and causes which determine the technical and economic potential of soil C sequestration. The book provides information on the dynamics of both inorganic (lithogenic and pedogenic carbonates) and organic C (labile, intermediate and passive). It describes different types of agroecosystems, and lists questions at the end of each chapter to stimulate thinking and promote academic dialogue. Each chapter has a bibliography containing up-to-date references on the current research, and provides the state-of-the-knowledge while also identifying the knowledge gaps for future research. The critical need for restoring C stocks in world soils is discussed in terms of provisioning of essential ecosystem services (food security, carbon sequestration, water quality and renewability, and biodiversity). It is of interest to students, scientists, and policy makers.

Carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere as the result of fossil fuel emissions and land use change (especially tropical deforestation) threatens to cause global warming and climatic change. One means of reducing the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is through its capture by photosynthesis and storage (sequestration) in soil. The quantities of carbon that can be sequestered during the next century are enough to offset two or three decades' worth of carbon emissions at the current rate. The book deals with four issues that must be addressed before soil carbon sequestration programs can be implemented on a large scale: new science, monitoring and verification, the soil carbon sequestration/desertification linkage, and policy and implementation issues. Contents include - Science Needs and New Technology for Soil Carbon Sequestration - Monitoring and Verifying Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration - Desertification Control to Sequester C and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect - Soil Carbon: Policy and Economics - Science Needs and New Technologies - Monitoring and Verifying - Desertification

Volume 2 of Advances in Carbon Management Technologies has 21 chapters. It presents the introductory chapter again, for framing the challenges that confront the proposed solutions discussed in this volume. Section 4 presents various ways biomass and biomass wastes can be manipulated to provide a low-carbon footprint of the generation of power, heat and co-products, and of recovery and reuse of biomass wastes for beneficial purposes. Section 5 provides potential carbon management solutions in urban and manufacturing environments. This section also provides state-of the-art of battery technologies for the transportation sector. The chapters in section 6 deals with electricity and the grid, and how decarbonization can be practiced in the electricity sector. The overall topic of advances in carbon management is too broad to be covered in a book of this size. It was not intended to cover every possible aspect that is relevant to the topic. Attempts were made, however, to highlight the most important issues of decarbonization from technological viewpoints. Over the years carbon intensity of products and processes has decreased, but the proportion of energy derived from fossil fuels has been stubornly stuck at about 80%. This has occurred despite very rapid development of renewable fuels, because at the same time the use of fossil fuels has also increased. Thus, the challenges are truly daunting. It is hoped that the technology choices provided here will show the myriad ways that solutions will evolve. While policy decisions are the driving forces for technology development, the book was not designed to cover policy solutions.

This book was motivated by the desire to compile recent advances in carbon management to examine promises and limitations of emissions measurements, energy efficiencies, carbon capture and sequestration, biomass waste utilization, electric power generation, energy storage, and carbon neutral power from nuclear, hydro, solar and wind.