Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture: How Much Could It Cost to Measure Soil Carbon in Montana? by Siân Mooney, John Antle, Susan Capalbo, and Keith Paustian, MontGuide, MT200409 AG, Montana State University Extension Service, October 2004.

This Montguide outlines some of the factors that affect the costs of measuring soil carbon and presents the results from a study that examines the costs of measuring soil carbon in six regions of Montana.

What is Carbon and the Carbon Cycle? by Charles W. Rice, Richard Nelson, and Leslie Jones, MontGuide, MT200408 AG, Montana State University Extension Service, September 2004.

The publication describes carbon and the carbon cycle to give a basic understanding of what it means to sequester carbon in the soil.

Soil Carbon Sequestration: Farm Management Practices Can Affect Greenhouse Gases by Perry Miller, Rick Engel, and Ross Brinklemyer, MontGuide, MT200404 AG, Montana State University Extension Service, April 2004.

The greater the tillage, the less soil carbon will be present. Soil organic matter is about 58 percent carbon.

Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture: The U.S. Policy Context

As the United States has not adopted binding emissions for greenhouse gases or ratified the Kyoto Protocol, national demand for sequestration services is limited. Internationally, credit trading is limited to ratified parties, so international demand for U.S. credits also is severely limited.

Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture: Can Agriculture Compete in a Market for Carbon? by John Antle, Susan Capalbo, Siân Mooney, Edward Elliott, and Keith Paustian, MontGuide, MT200314 AG, Montana State University Extension Service, December 2003.

Montana dryland grain production study shows that soil carbon sequestered by grain producers in the northern Great Plains region could compete in a national or international market for carbon.

Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture: Opportunities Vary Throughout Montana by John Antle, Susan Capalbo, and Siân Mooney, MontGuide, MT200313 AG, Montana State University Extension Service, December 2003.

Carbon can be sequestered in agricultural soils of the Northern Great Plains at a cost competitive with other sources. A carbon market will benefit regions with the lowest costs per ton of carbon sequestered. As demand increases, more producers will have financial incentives to enter the market.

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