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- Title
Carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems of West Asia and North Africa.
- Authors
R. Lal
- Abstract
The West AsiaNorth Africa (WANA) region has a land area of 1.7 billion ha, and a population of 600 million. Desertification and soil degradation are severe problems in the region. The problem of drought stress is exacerbated by low and erratic rainfall and soils of limited available water holding capacity and soil organic carbon (SOC) content of less than 0.5 per cent. The SOC pool of most soils has been depleted by soil degradation and widespread use of subsistence and exploitative farming systems. The historic loss of a SOC pool for the soils of the WANA region may be 612 Pg compared with the global loss of 6690 Pg. Assuming that 60 per cent of the historic loss can be resequestered, the total soil-C sink capacity of the WANA region may be 37 Pg. This potential may be realized through adoption of measures to control desertification, restore degraded soils and ecosystems, and improve soil and crop management techniques that can enhance the SOC pool and improve soil quality. The strategies of soil-C sequestration include integrated nutrient management (INM) and recycling, controlled grazing, and growing improved fodder species on rangeland. Improved technologies for cropland include use of INM and biofertilizers, appropriate tillage methods and residue management techniques, crop rotations and cover crops, and water and nutrient recycling technologies. Through adoption of such measures, the potential of soil-C sequestration in the WANA region is 0.20.4 Pg C yr−1. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Subjects
ASIA; NORTH Africa; DESERTIFICATION; SOIL degradation; RAINFALL anomalies; AGRICULTURE; CROP management; RANGELAND monitoring
- Publication
Land Degradation & Development, 2002, Vol 13, Issue 1, p45
- ISSN
1085-3278
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ldr.477