Net greenhouse gas balance in U.S. croplands: How can soils be a part of the climate solution?

Agricultural soils play a dual role in regulating the Earth’s climate by releasing or sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2) in soil organic carbon (SOC) and emitting non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). To understand how agricultural soils can play a role in climate solutions requires a comprehensive assessment of net soil GHG balance (i.e., sum of SOC-sequestered CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions) and the underlying controls. Herein, we used a model-data integration approach to understand and quantify how natural and anthropogenic factors have affected the magnitude and spatiotemporal variations of the net soil GHG balance in U.S. croplands during 1960-2018. Specifically, we used the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) for regional simulations and used field observations of SOC sequestration rates and N2O and CH4 emissions to calibrate, validate, and corroborate model simulations. Results show that U.S. agricultural soils sequestered 13.2±1.16 Tg CO2-C..., , , # Net greenhouse gas balance in U.S. croplands: How can soils be a part of the climate solution?

## Author information

Yongfa You [1,2,3], Hanqin Tian [1,2*], Shufen Pan [1,3,4], Hao Shi [5], Chaoqun Lu [6], William D. Batchelor [7], Bo Cheng [7], Dafeng Hui [8], David Kicklighter [9], Xin-Zhong Liang [10], Xiaoyong Li [1,2,5], Jerry Melillo [9], Naiqing Pan [1,2], Stephen A. Prior [11], John Reilly [12]

\[1] Center for Earth System Science and Global Sustainability (CES3), Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

\[2] Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

\[3] International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

\[4] Department of Engineering and Environmental Studies Program, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

\[5] State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for...