CO 2 is the greenhouse gas most commonly associated with fuelling climate change. Because tillage increases the exposure of deeper soils to the atmosphere and increases microbial activity in soil, cultivated soil is more likely to decompose, turning carbon in the soil into atmospheric CO 2 . This is equivalent to about 10 years' worth of carbon emissions from fossil fuels burned in Canada. Good soil management is now reversing the carbon losses, to the point where many of our soils are already showing gains in carbon. Crops absorb CO 2 as they grow.
Carbon sequestration is possible through good land management.
One of the best methods is no-tillage, which involves seeding the crop with minimum disturbance of the soil. Many farmers have already switched to reduced tillage because of its economic advantage, especially in the Prairies. An added bonus is that it will improve soil quality. In 1996, no-till was being used on about 16 percent of Canada's farmland, up from 7 percent in 1991. For some soils, conversion to no-till can sequester up to 1.5 tonnes of CO 2 per hectare per year for at least 10 years.