Clovis NMSU researcher studying routing of carbon into the ground

Dec. 31—An agronomist at New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis is researching ways to permanently store carbon underground so it doesn't go into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

According to a news release from NMSU, Rajan Ghimire, a cropping systems agronomist of NMSU's College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has focused his research on understanding soil, plant and environmental interactions to better manage cropping systems and improve soil health, working to develop techniques to relieve agricultural production stresses via carbon sequestration.

"My whole focus is on identifying agricultural strategies for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil as organic carbon," Ghimire said. "When the plant material and residues are added to the soil, the carbon gets into the soil."

In the NMSU news release, Ghimire explained soil macro and microorganisms process the plant biomass into finer organic matter, which can remain in the soil for several years in soil aggregates, react with soil minerals, or transform into complex organic molecules that stays in soil for hundreds to a thousand years.

"My research team has been exploring how much biomass is needed to enhance these processes, what soil and crop management practices favor CO2 sequestration, and what are the drivers for its permanent storage in the ground," he said.

Ghimire said in addition, the researchers are looking at how this carbon storage contributes to soil health, minimizes global warming potential, improves the resilience of agriculture, and increases farm profitability.

The news release stated most scientists agree that rising carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases are causing climate change, fueling more extreme heat and weather and harming the agricultural sector.

"If we can reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, then we can improve our environment," Ghimire said.

Since joining NMSU in 2015, Ghimire has expanded his studies to understand soil health and carbon sequestration in arid and semi-arid areas.

"If we look at New Mexico, cropland and rangeland make up almost 60% of the land area, and soil carbon sequestration in these areas could substantially benefit the state," he said.

Ghimire is currently working to develop multiple techniques for carbon sequestration and soil health management in New Mexico and has several ongoing projects.

Ghimire said his long-term objective is to help underdeveloped countries through his research and production technologies. He believes developing reliable carbon sequestration strategies in New Mexico could benefit nearly 40% of the world and touch the livelihood of almost 20% of the global population residing in arid and semi-arid regions.

"New Mexico is the ideal test bed for carbon and water management research for dry environments," he said. "There are many underdeveloped countries in arid and semi-arid regions. Climate change and food security are two major threats to humanity in these countries."