Topic: Carbon Farming and Climate-Change Mitigation: Biochar and Bioenergy Systems in Sustainable Land Management

This Special Issue will explore the role of carbon farming and other land-based strategies in advancing climate-change mitigation through long-term carbon sequestration. As pressures mount to achieve net-zero targets, it is increasingly clear that land systems must contribute more effectively—yet responsibly—to atmospheric carbon drawdown.

We welcome contributions on a range of interventions, including soil carbon enhancement, afforestation/reforestation, agroforestry, biochar application, and bioenergy systems, particularly BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The issue aims to go beyond conventional metrics by highlighting methodological novelties that address the temporal and spatial dynamics of land-use change, regeneration, and carbon storage. We are particularly interested in studies that use or develop system-level assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), to evaluate carbon farming interventions in terms of their long-term climate effectiveness, environmental trade-offs, and feasibility under real-world policy, resource, governance constraints.

We strongly encourage submissions that offer new frameworks to assess the permanence of carbon storage, land-use competition, environmental co-benefits, and ethical dimensions. Contributions from diverse geographies, disciplines, and policy contexts are welcome, especially those providing insights into practical implementation pathways for sustainable land-based mitigation.

Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
1. Carbon farming practices such as agroforestry, reduced tillage, cover cropping, and residue return for long-term carbon sequestration: methods, impacts, and scalability;
2. Biochar systems in sustainable land management: permanence of carbon storage, soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental co-benefits;
3. Modeling the carbon sequestration potential of carbon farming - from farm to regional and global scales;
4. Bioenergy systems and BECCS: evaluating trade-offs, land-use competition, feasibility, and climate effectiveness;
5. Advances in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for land-based carbon removal strategies;
6. Integration of IAMs and spatial models to assess land carbon-storage strategies at regional and global scales;
7. Innovations in monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) for soil and biomass carbon;
8. Socioeconomic and ethical considerations in implementing carbon farming across contexts;
9. Policy frameworks and governance models that support land-based carbon mitigation;
10. Temporal dynamics and regeneration time in land-use change and carbon accounting;
11. Co-benefits and unintended consequences of carbon farming for biodiversity, water, food, and livelihoods.

30 Nov 2025