International Research Consortium (IRC) for Soil Carbon

20 February 2025. Webinar titled "Strengthening Collaboration on Soil Carbon: Roles and Opportunities for the Africa Chapter of the International Research Consortium (IRC-SC)" 

• Oluwole Fatunbi, highlighted the critical need for effective soil carbon management in Africa. 
• Keynote speaker Aggrey Agumya emphasized the importance of building scientific capacity and collaboration to enhance climate resilience and food security. 
• Mathieu Nogues introduced the Sol Carbon International Research Consortium, inviting participants to contribute on an international level. 
• Dr. Joseph Kube addressed the current state of soil carbon research in Africa, discussing challenges and the potential for significant carbon storage. 

An interactive Q&A session followed, where participants explored various aspects of soil carbon management, including policy implications. The meeting then focused on organizing the African chapter of the IRC, stressing youth involvement and forming partnerships.

• Current challenges in soil carbon research in Africa include limited long-term studies, fragmented data, and inconsistent monitoring methods that hinder effective carbon management strategies.
• Opportunities lie in leveraging climate finance and carbon markets to support community-led projects focused on soil carbon enhancement and sustainable agricultural practices.
• Collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and local communities is essential to develop innovative solutions and promote knowledge sharing for effective soil carbon management across the continent.

The potential for soil carbon storage in Africa despite land degradation.

• Soil carbon storage in Africa has significant potential due to the following factors:
• Africa possesses vast areas of degraded land that can be restored through improved land management practices, allowing for increased soil carbon sequestration.
• Research indicates that Africa could potentially store 30-40% of the global soil carbon, highlighting the continent's crucial role in climate change mitigation.
• Agroecological practices, such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture, can enhance soil health and organic carbon levels, providing a pathway to improve food security while combating land degradation.
• Soil carbon storage in Africa has significant potential due to the following factors:
• Africa possesses approximately 30-40% of the global potential for soil carbon storage, despite the challenges of land degradation.
• Innovative agricultural practices, such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture, have demonstrated the ability to enhance soil carbon levels and improve soil health.
• Restoration initiatives, like the Sahel regreening project, highlight the capacity for large-scale restoration efforts to boost carbon sequestration and combat climate change impacts.

Need for integrated approaches to enhance soil carbon and agricultural productivity.

• Integrated approaches that combine organic and inorganic fertilizers can optimize nutrient availability and enhance soil health, leading to improved agricultural productivity.
• Utilizing agroecological practices, such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture, can significantly increase soil carbon sequestration while maintaining or boosting crop yields.
• Collaboration among researchers, farmers, and policymakers is essential to develop and implement effective strategies for soil carbon management that address local conditions and challenges.

Background:

The idea to create a Soil Carbon IRC emerged during the CIRCASA project (2017-2021) together with more than 100 stakeholders and 500 scientists from around the world. It was then reinforced by the launch of the ORCaSa project in September 2022. 

Taking things a step further, the Soil Carbon IRC expands its scope to cover all soils (including forests, pastures, wetlands, and urban areas…). Aided by Impact4Soil, an online platform for collecting and sharing knowledge on soil carbon, the IRC, and its partners and regional nodes aim to provide better access to research, methods and practices related to soil carbon.

Related:

9-10 May 2024. East Africa Carbon Markets Forum, a premier event bringing together key stakeholders in the region's carbon markets.

4-6 June 2024. ORCaSa's partners organised a webinar to present Impact4Soil, the online soil carbon knowledge platform they have designed. Impact4Soil aimed at a range of professionals and experts from the research community, but also the private sector, NGOs, policy-makers, and anyone with an interest in the health of our soils.

Soil is a global subject of study, and Impact4Soil enables synergies and collaborations by bringing together researchers, farmers, foresters, spatial planners, land managers. Stated simply, the platform covers any type of soil category, from every possible angle.

For the research community, Impact4Soil offers seamless access to soil carbon-related data and meta-analysis, scientific publications, but also best practices and trends.

Thanks to its comprehensive and integrated design, Impact4Soil allows users to:

• Compare results with the existing literature
• Discover new insights to complement their work
• Boost visibility of research partnerships, activities, and outputs