Francesca Cotrufo – The Conversation

Soybeans sprout on an Illinois farm through corn stubble left on an unplowed field from the previous season – an example of no-till farming. Paige Buck, USDA/Flickr

June 30, 2021

To make agriculture more climate‑friendly, carbon farming needs clear rules

Laura van der Pol, Colorado State University; Dale Manning, Colorado State University; Francesca Cotrufo, Colorado State University, and Megan Machmuller, Colorado State University

Policymakers want to pay farmers for storing carbon in soil, but there are no uniform rules yet for measuring, reporting or verifying the results. Four scholars offer some ground rules.

Planting cover crops, like this red clover in Sussex County, Delaware, can help return carbon to farm fields. Michele Dorsey Walfred/Flickr

February 6, 2020

Soil carbon is a valuable resource, but all soil carbon is not created equal

Jocelyn Lavallee, Colorado State University and Francesca Cotrufo, Colorado State University

Storing more carbon in soil helps slow climate change and makes croplands more productive. But there are two kinds of soil carbon that are both important, but function very differently.

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