Rational Outlook on Carbon Credit and Carbon Footprints in Indian Agricultural System: A Comprehensive Review

Global population is expected to rise about 9 billion by 2050, and thus will bring significant and devastating changes to the earth. CO2 levels have been found to be sharply increased by 31 per cent since 1750, due to numerous land use alterations, faulty and intensive agricultural practices which lead to soil degradation. If such development prevails then it demands innovative and modern management strategies to mitigate the risks associated with climatic change. Earth's surface is continuously warming up due to an irrational land use system, intensive farming without considering the soil health and a surge in global CO2 emissions. Moreover, these adverse conditions can be exacerbated by soil mismanagement, degradation and land exploitation which leads to significant soil carbon depletion. The primary source of carbon emissions is human based activities including land use changes, burning natural biomass, excessive exploitation of renewable natural resources. In the agricultural system, soil plays a crucial role in mitigating the emissions and maintaing food safety and security equilibrium, irrigation water quality and thus impacts the climate positively. Implementation of soil health management strategies not only support the land restoration and crop production levels but also increases the soil carbon sequestration capacity. The key to harnessing the soil hidden potential lies in the adoption of best management practices and restorative land-use strategies. Most of the carbon lost from soil carbon pools due to mismanagement can be reclaimed through conservation practices. Therefore, the present review delves into constructing an understanding on mechanism and role of soil C credit and C sequestration and its impact on the agricultural sector.