Emerging Pathways and Barriers to Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soils: A Comprehensive Review

Agricultural soils are increasingly framed as a cornerstone of climate mitigation strategies because they can store additional organic carbon while delivering agronomic and environmental co-benefits. Yet the true potential of soil carbon sequestration and the conditions under which it can be realized remain contested. This review synthesizes emerging evidence on pathways for increasing soil organic carbon in cropland and grazing systems, and critically examines the biophysical, socioeconomic, and governance barriers that constrain implementation at scale. The study first outlines the conceptual foundations of soil carbon sequestration in farmland, distinguishing between technical and realistic potentials and highlighting recent global assessments that emphasize strong context dependence. We then review key biophysical pathways, including diversified crop rotations, reduced tillage, cover crops, organic amendments, perennial crops, agroforestry, and regenerative agriculture frameworks, alongside newer options such as engineered amendments and breeding for deep rooting. Recent meta-analyses and field studies show that many of these practices can increase soil carbon stocks while enhancing yields and resilience, but effects vary strongly with baseline soil carbon, climate, and management history, and are limited by saturation and nutrient constraints.Next, we examine the rapidly evolving landscape of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), including conventional sampling and modeling, remote sensing, digital soil mapping, and emerging modular MRV frameworks that underpin soil carbon crediting. We synthesize evidence on farmers’ motivations, perceptions, and risk preferences, and on how carbon markets and policy incentives shape adoption, drawing on recent studies from Europe, Australia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean. Finally, we identify cross-cutting barriers related to uncertain permanence, nitrogen trade-offs, land tenure, equity, and institutional capacity.This review concludes that agricultural soil carbon sequestration can make a meaningful but finite contribution to climate mitigation while providing substantial co-benefits, especially in degraded, low-carbon soils. Realizing this potential requires aligning agronomic innovation, robust MRV, farmer-centred incentive design, and just governance arrangements that prioritize long-term soil health rather than short-term credit volumes.