USDA Announces New Tool for Estimating Soil Carbon Sequestration 

Carbon sequestration in soils suggests that fluxes or movements of carbon from the atmosphere can be increased while the natural release of carbon back into the air can be reduced. By absorbing carbon instead of emitting it, soils could evolve from carbon sources to carbon sinks. This process relies on respiration and photosynthesis, two basic processes of the carbon cycle. Carbon, entering the soil in form of roots, litter, harvest residues, and animal manure, is stored primarily as soil organic matter (SOM).

NRCS is offering farmers and ranchers a new online management tool called COMET-VR that provides a simple and reliable method for estimating soil carbon sequestration. Storing, or “sequestering,” carbon in soil as organic matter and in trees helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. COMET-VR was field tested by individuals involved in crop production, livestock grazing and conservation planning in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming.