Carbon Sequestration Science

Carbon sequestration encompasses the capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial, marine and engineered systems. On land, vegetation fixes CO₂ by photosynthesis and allocates it to biomass and soils, where it may be stabilized in aggregates or mineral-associated organic matter. In coastal “blue carbon” habitats—mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses—burial in anoxic sediments delivers high carbon stocks per unit area. Engineered approaches aim to augment these natural sinks or to capture CO₂ directly from point sources or ambient air, with subsequent storage in geological formations or conversion to stable carbonates. Successful sequestration mitigates greenhouse gas concentrations, improves soil health and supports ecological resilience, but depends on the balance of inputs, decomposition rates and permanence of storage. Integrated strategies that combine land-use management, policy instruments and technological innovation are essential to meet ambitious climate targets without compromising food production or biodiversity.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work has introduced tonne-year accounting, demonstrating a proportional relationship between the mass-years of carbon stored in ecosystems and the degree-years of avoided warming. This framework enables the inclusion of temporary sequestration—in soils or biomass—within climate commitments by quantifying its transient climate benefit. Parallel analyses have quantified the global capacity to scale geological CO₂ storage to gigatonne-per-year levels by mid-century, identifying a pragmatic benchmark of 5–6 Gt CO₂ yr⁻¹ under current technology roadmaps and highlighting regional constraints in storage site development. Field experiments in conservation agriculture over eight years of warming have revealed linear accumulations of soil organic carbon and microbial biomass under minimal-till and residue-retention regimes, coupled with improvements in crop yield, confirming the dual benefits of such practices for climate mitigation and food security.

Carbon Sequestration Science publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in carbon sequestration science across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Carbon sequestration: The process of capturing atmospheric CO₂ and storing it durably in biomass, soils or minerals.

Tonne-year accounting: A metric combining the mass of carbon stored and the duration of storage to quantify avoided warming over time.

Geological storage: Injection of CO₂ into deep subsurface formations—saline aquifers or depleted reservoirs—for long-term containment.

Soil organic carbon (SOC): The pool of carbon in soil derived from decomposed plant and microbial biomass, critical for fertility and storage.

Conservation agriculture: An integrated system based on minimal soil disturbance, permanent organic cover and diversified rotations to enhance resilience.

Blue carbon: Carbon captured by coastal vegetated ecosystems (mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses) and buried in sediments under low-oxygen conditions.

Additionality: The requirement that reported sequestration exceeds what would have occurred under a business-as-usual scenario.

References

1. Accounting for the climate benefit of temporary carbon storage in nature. Nature Communications (2023).
2. The feasibility of reaching gigatonne scale CO2 storage by mid-century. Nature Communications (2024).
3. Conservation agriculture improves soil health and sustains crop yields after long-term warming. Nature Communications (2024).
4. Scoping review of carbon pricing systems in forest sector models. Environmental Research Letters (2023).
5. Reforestation of tropical rainforests as a negative emissions technology in Malaysia: An environmental and economic sustainability assessment. Journal of Environmental Management (2024).
6. The hidden roots of wetland methane emissions. Global Change Biology (2024).