Energy 29 (2004) 1643–1650 www.elsevier.com/locate/energy Studies on enhancing carbon sequestration in soils G. Marland  , C.T. Garten Jr., W.M. Post, T.O. West Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335, USA Abstract Studies of carbon and nitrogen dynamics in ecosystems are leading to an understanding of the factors and mechanisms that affect the inputs to and outputs from soils and how these might be manipulated to enhance C sequestration. Both the quantity and the quality of soil C inputs influence C storage and the potential for C sequestration. Changes in tillage intensity and crop rotations can also affect C seques- tration by changing the soil physical and biological conditions and by changing the amounts and types of organic inputs to the soil. Analyses of changes in soil C and N balances are being supplemented with studies of the management practices needed to manage soil carbon and the implications for fossil-fuel use, emission of other greenhouse gases (such as N 2 O and CH 4 ), and impacts on agricultural pro- ductivity. The Consortium for Research on Enhancing Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems (CSiTE) was created in 1999 to perform fundamental research that will lead to methods to enhance C sequestration as one component of a C management strategy. Research to date at one member of this consortium, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has focused on C sequestration in soils and we begin here to draw together some of the results. Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction The Consortium for Research on Enhancing Carbon Sequestration In Terrestrial Ecosystems (CSiTE) was created in 1999 by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research, to conduct basic scientific studies and analyses related to C seques- tration in terrestrial ecosystems. The consortium is led by the Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Argonne National Laboratories, and involves collaborators from universities and other research institutions both in the USA and in Europe. The objective of this consortium is to perform fundamental research that will lead to methods to enhance C sequestration as one  Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-865-241-4850; fax: +1-865-574-2232. E-mail address: gum@ornl.gov (G. Marland). 0360-5442/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2004.03.066