Science

Carbon storage (sequestration) occurs in forests and soils primarily through the natural process of photosynthesis. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) is taken up through tiny openings in leaves and incorporated as carbon into the woody biomass of trees and agricultural crops. Roughly half of this biomass is carbon. Some of this carbon makes its way into soils when vegetation, litter and roots decay. Carbon in forests and soils can return to the atmosphere as CO₂ when agricultural tillage practices stir up soils or when biomass decays and burns. Forests and agricultural soils can therefore act as either a net carbon sink or source. The movement of carbon in and out of trees and soils is part of the Earth's global carbon cycle.

This section of the Web site provides a basic description overview of these carbon processes at two scales:

• Local scale: carbon pools involved in forestry and agricultural sequestration activities
  
  
• Global scale: forestry and agriculture in the global carbon cycle
  

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