Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential Maps in the Russian Cropland

Adaptation of the farming systems that aim to store carbon in agricultural soils may be one of the ways to address global climate change. Current study aims were at estimating organic carbon sequestration in the Russian cropland at a soil depth of 0-30 cm by creating a series of maps. Data from global and national databases were used as the input data. Maps were generated in the framework of the FAO Global Soil Carbon Sequestration Map (GSOCseq) project according to the unified methodology using the RothC model to predict the rate of carbon sequestration in the period 2020–2040 under the business-as-usual scenario, as well as under sustainable soil management scenarios with a different increase in organic matter intake (+5, +10 and +20%) due to the use of carbon-saving practices. The total potential rate of sequestration by cropland of the Russian Federation in a layer of 0–30 cm under business-as-usual scenario can be estimated as 8.5 Mt/year, the estimate under sustainable soil management scenarios can reach up to 25.5 Mt/year. It is shown that the carbon sequestration by cropland of each zone of soil-ecological zoning (except for the light chestnut and brown semi-desert soils, where it around zero) and on a national scale are positive. The following regions have the greatest potential for sequestration: Altai Krai, Omsk Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai. In a number of subjects of the Russian Federation: the Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Crimea, the Rostov Region, the Primorsky Territory, the Republic of Adygea and the Kaliningrad Region, measures should be taken to introduce the practice of sustainable management of soil resources.