Payback time for soil carbon from pasture conversion to sugarcane production

The reduction of soil carbon stock caused by the conversion of pasture areas into sugarcane plantations may be offset within two or three years of cultivation. Researchers report that soil from pasture areas has a carbon stock whose volume varies only slightly over the years. However, the process of preparing this type of soil for conversion to sugarcane plantations causes part of the carbon stock to be emitted into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2).

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