Feasible Carbon Sequestration Potential in European Agricultural Mineral Soils Through Improved Management

ABSTRACT Soil degradation threatens global agriculture by compromising soil health, while sustainable agricultural management enhances soil functionality and carbon (C) storage, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation. This study estimates the feasible C sequestration potential of ten agricultural management practices across Europe, by applying practice‐specific emission factors and identifying areas suitable for additional implementation. For each management option, the implementation area was defined based on environmental and technical limitations and, if applicable, EU regulations. The objective of this study is to identify general patterns, relative magnitudes, and plausible ranges of carbon sequestration potentials across Europe. Considering soil C from 0 to 50 cm depth, biochar application shows the highest and most robust potential, contributing approximately 34%–47% of the total estimated annual C sequestration rate. This is followed by agroforestry, contributing 24%–45% (of which ~10% occurs in soils and ~90% in biomass), and zero tillage with 11%–15%. Optimised crop residue management (4%–6%), forage legumes and temporary ley rotations (4%–5%), and cover cropping (2%–3%) contribute comparatively smaller shares. Non‐inversion tillage and irrigation offered a marginal C sequestration potential. By implementing all non‐mutually exclusive management options, the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential is estimated at approximately 20%–30% of current, annual, agricultural GHG emissions in Europe (740 Mt. CO 2 e yr. −1 ), including the land‐use, land‐use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector. For the EU‐27, this corresponds to a similar range of 20%–31% of annual agricultural GHG emissions (614 Mt. CO 2 e yr. −1 ), also including the LULUCF sector. Evaluating trade‐offs and synergies of each management option is essential for achieving sustainable soil management. The success of C sequestration efforts in European agriculture depends on scaling up improved management practices. Meanwhile, soil C stocks decrease and entrenched policy as well as economic and other adoption barriers suggest that even the conservative scenario may be overly optimistic.