Enhance soil organic matter content.

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role in maintaining soil functions and preventing soil degradation. Soils constitute the largest organic carbon pool on the Earth and play a critical role in regulating climate and mitigating climate change through trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration. For this reason, SOM is strategic for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and global stores of SOM should be stabilized or increased. A loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) due to inappropriate land use or the use of poor soil management or cropping practices can cause a decline in soil quality and soil structure, and increase soil erosion, potentially leading to emissions of carbon into the atmosphere. On the other hand, appropriate land use and soil management can lead to increased SOC and improved soil quality that can partially mitigate the rise of atmospheric CO2 . • Increase biomass production by increasing water availability for plants using methods (e.g., irrigation with drippers or microsprinklers; irrigation scheduling; monitoring of soil moisture or loss of water via evapotranspiration) that maximize water-use efficiency and minimize soil erosion and nutrient leaching, using cover crops, balancing fertilizer applications and effective use of organic amendments, improving vegetative stands, promoting agroforestry and alley cropping, and implementing reforestation and afforestation; • Protect organic carbon-rich soils in peatlands, forests, pasturelands, etc.; • Increase organic matter content through practices such as: managing crop residues, using forage by grazing rather than harvesting, practicing organic farming, applying integrated soil fertility management and integrated pest management, applying animal manure or other carbon-rich wastes, using compost, and applying mulches or providing the soil with a permanent cover; • Fire should preferably be avoided, except where fire is integral to land management, in which case the timing and intensity of burning should aim to limit losses of soil functions. Where fire is a naturally occurring event, steps to minimize erosion and encourage revegetation after fire should be considered, where practical. • Make optimum use of all sources of organic inputs, such as animal manure and properly processed human wastes; • Management practices such as cover crops, improved fallow plant species, reduced- or no-tillage practices, or live fences should be adopted to ensure the soil has a sufficient organic cover; • Decrease decomposition rates of soil organic matter by practicing minimum or no-tillage without increasing the use of herbicides; and • Implementing crop rotations, planting legumes (including pulses) or improving the crop mix