Ecosystems & Pathways
Cover cropping
Growing a non-harvested crop between main crops to protect soil and add organic matter.
Cover crops shield soil from erosion, scavenge residual nutrients and add root and shoot material that becomes soil organic carbon. The carbon gain is real but gradual and highly site-dependent.
Verification is the hard part, because soil carbon changes slowly against large background variability. Sampling density and depth matter more than the choice of laboratory method.
Frequently asked questions
How much carbon does it add?
It varies widely with climate, soil and management; measured gains are usually modest per hectare per year.
How deep should soil be sampled?
Deep enough to capture the change, and consistently across dates, since shallow sampling can miss redistribution.