Conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide to soil organic matter (SOM) via photosynthesis and natural metabolic processes is a unique opportunity to reduce the atmospheric concentrations of important greenhouse gases while creating significant economic value. Current land management practices result in the loss of more than 75 billion tons of topsoil per year, costing the world about $400 billion annually, or about $70 per person per year. The amount of soil carbon can be increased by one of two pathways: increasing the rate of carbon additions to the soil, or reducing the rate of decomposition of organic matter already present in the soil. One potential path to increasing carbon stocks is the development of improved crops that impart more carbon into the soil through their roots or grow deeper root systems. Such plants could be deployed rapidly and at scale. Advanced root systems that increase SOM can improve soil structure, fertilizer use efficiency, water productivity, crop yield, climate resilience, and mitigate topsoil erosion—all of which provide near-term and sustained economic value. Taken over the 160 million hectares of actively managed U.S. cropland, such advances could mitigate approximately 10 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions annually over a multi-decade period.

If successful, developments from ROOTS projects will produce crops that will greatly increase carbon uptake in soil, helping to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, decrease N2O emissions, and improve agricultural productivity.