Open AccessEffectiveness of the United Kingdom Soil Protection Laws in Protecting the Ecosystem Service of Carbon Sequestration Introduction
Author(s) -
Merve Demir,
Iain D. Green,
Tilak Ginige
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
gdańskie studia prawnicze
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1734-5669
DOI - 10.26881/gsp.2021.3.08
Subject(s) - soil water , carbon sequestration , environmental science , legislation , environmental protection , ecosystem services , ecosystem , natural (archaeology) , atmosphere (unit) , soil carbon , earth science , natural resource economics , law , soil science , ecology , political science , carbon dioxide , geography , geology , biology , meteorology , archaeology , economics
Carbon is crucial for life and exists in various reservoirs, such as plant tissues, soil organic matter, geology, and atmosphere. There is a direct relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere and rising temperatures. CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in ecosystems. Carbon sequestration (CS) – the process of capturing and storing atmospheric CO2 – and expanding C storage of soils are appealing climate change (CC) responses. Agricultural soils are one of the largest C reservoirs and have potential for extended CS. Thus, protecting this ecosystem service (ES) we obtain from soils is crucial for addressing CC. Soil protection legislation should incorporate the significance of CS.
The key issues in the sphere of natural resources can only be addressed by utilizing natural sciences in legal arguments. Accordingly, this study begins with highlighting the importance of soils for CS from a natural science perspective. This study analyses soil protection laws in the UK by scrutinizing whether they eliminate pressures on agricultural soils in a way that protect CS. The findings of this study suggest that soil protection laws do not offer a satisfactory protection for CS. We conclude by discussing alternative approaches for protecting CS in an effective manner and reverse the current trends in ES protection.