The effects of afforestation on soil carbon (#journal)

A synthesis of change in deep soil organic carbon stores with afforestation of agricultural soils

Afforestation is a good mitigation activity to climate change because it causes sequestration of CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it as the living biomass and the dead organic matter. However, the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) to afforestation in deep soil layers is still poorly understood. This article surveys 56 previously published studies for changes in deep SOC after afforestation of both croplands and grasslands. It concludes that converting cropland to forestry has a highly positive impact on SOC (1.3-1.6 times greater), converting grassland to forestry much less so.