The WaterBlog

Studying soil from space: Impact of re-greening on soil carbon

by Leon Casse November 16, 2020 Over the past years Justdiggit has carried outs multiple interventions in southern Kenya in order to re-green the area and to reduce erosion. This is mainly done by reducing the overland flow of water through improving the infiltration by, among other methods, digging rainwater harvesting bunds (see picture below). These bunds store water and let it infiltrate, preventing it from flowing away. This has resulted in less erosion, an increase in vegetation cover, and a reduction in local temperatures. However, there may be another process that can be influenced; namely the local carbon cycle and with that the potential for (soil) carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is defined as atmospheric carbon that is taken up and stored by vegetation or the soil, and is therefore no longer re-emitted back into the atmosphere. Semi-arid grasslands systems such as in southern Kenya usually store relatively little carbon and most of this carbon is stored in the soil… Continued