Carbon emissions and sinks in agro-ecosystems of China

Besides ruminant animals and their wastes, soil is an important regula ting medium in carbon cycling. The soil can be both a contributor to climate cha nge and a recipient of impacts. In the past, land cultivation has generally resu lted in considerable depletion of soil organic matter and the release of greenho use gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. The observation in the North-South Transec t of Eastern China showed that climate change and land use strongly impact all s oil processes and GHG exchanges between the soil and the atmosphere. Soil manage ment can restore organic carbon by enhancing soil structure and fertility and by doing so mitigating the negative impacts of atmospheric greenhouses on climate. A wide estimation carried out in China shows that carbon sequestration potentia l is about 77.2 MMt C/a (ranging from 26.1—128.3 MMt C/a) using proposed IPCC a ctivities during the next fifty years.