Terrestrial Sequestration

Terrestrial sequestration is CO₂ uptake by soils and plants, both on land and in aquatic environments such as wetlands and tidal marshes. Terrestrial sequestration provides an opportunity for low- cost CO₂ emissions offsets and usually offers additional benefits such as habitat or water quality improvements. Terrestrial efforts include tree-plantings, no-till farming, wetlands restoration, land management on grasslands and grazing lands, fire management efforts, and forest preservation. More advanced research includes the development of fast-growing trees and grasses and deciphering the genomes of carbon-storing soil microbes. NETL's Program efforts in the area of terrestrial sequestration include a focus on increasing carbon uptake on mined lands. These activities complement research into afforestation and agricultural practices that are being led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The U.S. DOE's Office of Science, U.S. EPA, and the Department of the Interior are also involved in terrestrial sequestration in supporting and complementary roles.

Afforestation on minelands provides more carbon sequestration per acre of land compared to grass planting. Tilling and soil amendment approaches provide a layer of loose earth that enables trees to take root. In some cases the tilled mineland is amended with coal combustion by-products to reduce its acidity. A layer of compacted earth is maintained under the loose earth to prevent rainwater from draining through the mine slag. These approaches can be applied to both closure practices at currently operating mines and reclamation of the nearly 6,070 km² (2,344 mi²) of lands in the U.S. damaged by past mining practices.