Importance of Grassland Management for Carbon Sequestration and to Mitigate Climate Change: A Review

Grasslands, including rangelands, shrub lands, pastureland, and cropland sown with pasture and fodder crops, covered approximately 3.5 billion ha in 2000, representing 26 percent of the world land area and 70 percent of the world agricultural area, and containing about 20 percent of the world’s soil carbon stocks (Ramankutty et al., 2008). All ecosystems- forested ecosystems, agro-ecosystems, grassland, ecosystems etc. take up atmospheric CO2 and mineral nutrients and transform them into organic products In undisturbed ecosystems, the carbon balance tends to be positive: carbon uptake through photosynthesis exceeds losses from respiration, even in mature, old-growth forest ecosystems. Improving cropland and grassland management is key to increasing crop productivity without further degrading soil and water resources. At the same time, sustainable agriculture has the potential to deliver co-benefits in the form of reduced GHG emissions and increased carbon sequestration, therefore contributing to climate change mitigation