Evaluating the effectiveness of mulch application to store organic carbon in agricultural soils

Soils contain more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined and increased soil carbon content provides multiple benefits including climate change mitigation, improved soil quality and larger plant production. Depending on the type of farming techniques applied, agricultural soils can either store more carbon content below-ground and improve soil quality and it can be used in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas levels, such as in the '4 per 1000' Initiative. To test the effectiveness of mulch application to store carbon below-ground in the short term, we maintained agricultural soils with low and high organic carbon content (disturbed top soil from local Cambisols and Chernozems, respectively) in greenhouse mesocosoms with controlled moisture as well as in agricultural field Cambisols.