The latest review article by researchers of the Institute for Soil Sciences provides an overview of the role of soil in climate change mitigation and highlights the potential of agricultural practices to support these goals. It provides insights into agrotechnical systems that increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce soil carbon emissions. After a brief global overview, the article will show how the organic carbon stocks of Hungarian agricultural land have changed over the past decades, focusing on climate-smart agricultural techniques (cover crops, conservation tillage, fertilisation, crop rotation, regenerative agriculture, and agroforestry) and their impacts. The article provides insights into the fact that the effectiveness and feasibility of these climate-smart agricultural practices are highly dependent on the geographical location, climate and soil conditions of the growing area, and the applicability and limitations of each practice under Hungarian conditions. In addition, it summarises the trends over time in the adoption of specific climate-smart practices over the last decade or two. Finally, it discusses the challenges to the adoption of the practices presented from economic, political, regulatory, and managerial perspectives.

The article is published in Land, available at the link below: mdpi.com