Assessing Soil Carbon Sequestration Through Cover Crops: The Role of Implicit Costs in Alabama Cotton Fields

ABSTRACT This study evaluates the economic feasibility of carbon sequestration through cover cropping in Alabama cotton fields, emphasizing the role of implicit costs, proxied by cash rent and reflecting land productivity and market proximity. Using a cost‐efficiency optimization model, we compare carbon supply curves under two cost assumptions: one with explicit costs and another with both explicit and implicit costs. While the carbon supply appears nearly linear with explicit costs alone, adding implicit costs sharply raises sequestration costs, revealing diminishing carbon sequestration efficiency. Spatial analysis highlights regional disparities driven by land values, underscoring the need for targeted, region‐specific policy incentives to strengthen the effectiveness of agricultural carbon markets.