Managing permanent grasslands for carbon sequestration in Scottish soils

Abstract

Soil can act as a carbon store or a carbon sink. The extent to which it does this will contribute to how Scotland can meet its emissions-reduction commitments. Grasslands cover a large area of Scotland’s land and their management can influence whether grassland soils release or store carbon and by how much.

There are two ways to improve carbon sequestration in Scottish soils – (i) through influencing the processing of carbon within soil and (ii) altering the inputs of carbon to the soil. Of these, the manipulation of inputs is better understood and easier to influence. This report synthesises the best state of knowledge on the effect of management practices on soil carbon sequestration in permanent, managed Scottish grasslands and modelled potential application.