The carbon sequestration potentials of selected crops in the United States: a review

Agricultural soils serve as an important frontier in the global efforts to sequester carbon (C), providing scalable opportunities to address climate change through improved land management. However, the C sequestration potential of major row crops across the diverse United States (U.S) agroecological zones, particularly corn, soybean, and rice, remains insufficiently characterized, particularly regarding the long-term interactions between crop-specific physiological traits and varied conservation management practices. Thus, the review combines the current evidence on the C sequestration potential of three major U.S crops, viz., corn (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and soybeans (Glycine max L.), across various agro-ecological zones and under different conservation practices. To achieve the objective of the review, 84 peer-reviewed studies published between 2008 and 2025 were systematically selected from reputable databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The review showed that C sequestration rates ranged from 0.15 to 1.8 Mg C ha⁻1 y⁻1, with variability driven by crop type, soil characteristics, and management intensity. A comparative analysis of the C sequestration rates of the three studied crops across similar climate zones and management practices revealed that corn generally performed better under irrigation and amendment-based strategies, while soybeans benefited more from no-till and residue-retaining systems. Rice systems demonstrated the potential for soil organic carbon (SOC) retention, but requirements for methane (CH₄) mitigation strategies. These findings position the management of corn, rice, and soybeans as a viable pathway for climate mitigation and highlight the need for long-term research to optimize C outcomes specifically for these selected crops across diverse U.S landscapes. The review highlights key research gaps, including the need for long-term, multi-crop datasets and standardized SOC metrics.