Carbon sequestration
Carbon is the basis of organic life. During the process of photosynthesis, plants fix carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They return a significant fraction of the oxygen to the atmosphere, making life on earth possible today. Plants store some of the carbon they sequester in their biomass (both in roots and above the surface) and some of it is used to feed organisms in the soil, thereby also helping to form humus. The richer the plant cover of an area and the denser its root system, the more carbon is stored in the soil. In crop production, carbon sequestration is possible by not ploughing and by using cover crops. In livestock production, holistic, intensively managed grazing allows carbon to accumulate in the soil.