The Tool Desk
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Soil and underground rock can both hold carbon, but they do it in different ways—and neither is a substitute for cutting emissions at the source. Soil management can increase or preserve carbon in land, while geological storage puts captured carbon dioxide into suitable deep formations. For construction, the distinction matters: site disturbance can affect soil carbon, and some industrial projects may depend on underground storage. The benefits, durability and verification requirements vary sharply between the two.
What does “beneath your feet” mean for carbon?
It can mean two quite different things. The first is soil carbon: organic carbon in soil that can rise or fall with land management and disturbance. The second is geological storage: carbon dioxide (CO₂) captured from a source and injected into deep rock formations for long-term storage. Both involve the subsurface, but they are not interchangeable climate solutions.
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The distinction is especially useful in construction. Clearing, grading, excavation and later landscaping can alter soil and vegetation, while a construction or industrial project may also encounter plans for carbon capture and storage infrastructure. The relevant question is not simply whether carbon is “underground,” but where it came from, how it is stored, how long it is expected to stay there, and how that claim is monitored.
The IPCC defines carbon dioxide removal as human activities that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it durably in geological, terrestrial, ocean or product reservoirs. That definition covers different pathways, not a guarantee that every project removes carbon durably. Emissions reductions remain essential: removal and storage can complement them, not excuse continued avoidable emissions.
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How do soil carbon and geological storage compare?
Soil management works with carbon in living and dead organic matter; geological storage handles captured CO₂ in engineered projects. The IPCC estimates markedly different storage timescales, and each pathway has its own constraints and evidence requirements.
| Question | Soil-carbon management | Geological storage |
|---|---|---|
| What is stored? | Organic carbon retained in or added to soil through land management. | Captured CO₂ injected into deep geological formations. |
| Estimated duration | Decades to centuries for vegetation and soil-carbon management, in the IPCC assessment. | 10,000 years or more for geological formations, in the IPCC assessment, when sites are appropriately selected and managed. |
| What limits it? | Land availability, local soil conditions, additional storage potential, measurement and reversal risk. | Suitable geology, location, infrastructure, site integrity, permitting and monitoring. |
| What must be measured? | Representative repeat samples, including soil organic carbon and bulk density. | Performance and integrity of an engineered storage site and the injected CO₂. |
The timescales come from the IPCC’s 2022 Summary for Policymakers. They describe assessed storage pathways, not a blanket warranty for every site or project. Geological storage’s long duration depends on appropriate site selection and management; soil carbon can be lost again if conditions or management change.
Can better soil management make a meaningful climate difference?
It can contribute, but the global potential figures are assessments, not a forecast of what any farm, site or landscaping project will deliver. The IPCC’s 2022 land-use chapter reports that earlier assessments estimated cropland soil-carbon-management mitigation potential at 1.4–2.3 gigatonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year. The chapter also describes a wider range in the literature, reflecting differences in assumptions and methods.
That number should not be read as a current tally of removals, a target that is already being met, or an expected yield per hectare. Potential depends on the baseline, soil type, climate, management history, and whether a practice adds carbon beyond what would have happened anyway. The IPCC also notes that well-managed grasslands can already have high soil-carbon stocks and relatively little additional storage potential. A practice that protects a large existing stock may be valuable for avoiding emissions even when it cannot credibly claim a large new removal.
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For construction, this makes pre-disturbance conditions important. A site’s existing soil carbon is not automatically a carbon removal attributable to a new project. If land is disturbed, the question is whether that disturbance causes a loss, whether later management can rebuild or protect stocks, and how those changes are established against a defensible baseline. Soil-health benefits may matter too, but the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cautions that soil health is assessed using multiple indicators rather than a single score or measurement.
What does geological carbon storage involve?
Geological storage is the underground part of carbon capture and storage (CCS): CO₂ is captured from a source, transported, and injected into a suitable deep formation. It is an engineered chain, not a general property of any underground space. For it to make a climate contribution, capture, transport, injection and storage need to be considered together, including the emissions associated with the chain and the integrity of the storage site.
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There is also active disagreement about how to count capacity. A 2025 Nature analysis applies precautionary exclusions to geological technical potential; an IIASA summary contrasts this prudent framing with larger estimates based on more optimistic assumptions. These figures are not directly interchangeable: one may refer to broad technical potential, another to a more restricted prudent resource. Neither should be reported as a definitive volume that is already accessible, permitted, monitored or ready for use.
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How can a project verify a soil-carbon claim?
A credible soil-carbon claim requires a defined measurement program over time, not a one-off garden test or the presence of a sampling probe. NRCS materials describe measuring soil organic carbon and bulk density using field samples, then repeating monitoring to detect change; changes may take several years to become clear and are often followed for more than five years.
- Establish the question and boundary. Define the land area, the carbon pool being measured and the claim being made. Keeping existing carbon in place is different from increasing stock above a baseline. A carbon-stock change is also not automatically the same as net climate benefit.
- Choose a representative sampling design. Soil varies across a site. Sampling locations, depths, timing and repeat schedule need to be consistent enough to compare results, while reflecting the area being claimed. NRCS’s CEMA 221 soil-carbon-stock monitoring protocol describes soil-probe or excavation approaches.
- Measure more than a surface impression. Laboratory analysis of organic carbon is paired with bulk-density measurement to estimate carbon stock. A pH strip, a basic garden kit, a visual assessment, or a single carbon concentration reading is not by itself evidence of durable atmospheric removal.
- Repeat and interpret cautiously. Follow the agreed sampling schedule and account for measurement uncertainty, changes in land use and other relevant factors. A single result cannot show a trend; NRCS says soil-carbon changes may require monitoring over several years, often more than five.
Land managers should consult qualified local soil professionals and a laboratory able to explain its sampling protocol, baseline, repeat schedule and interpretation method. The NRCS guidance is for U.S. conservation contexts; it does not establish program eligibility or requirements elsewhere. Its soil-health assessment and testing guidance are useful starting points for understanding why multiple measures and repeat observations matter.
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The IPCC’s 2022 Summary for Policymakers gives an illustrative cost range of USD 45–100 per tonne of CO₂ for soil-carbon sequestration. It is an assessment synthesis, not a current price quote for a farm or construction site, a carbon-credit price, or a guaranteed payment. Actual project economics depend on site conditions, management, measurement and other factors; the available data does not establish a current globally comparable project price.
Likewise, the cropland potential range of 1.4–2.3 GtCO₂-equivalent per year is not a unit rate that can be applied to a parcel. Neither figure says what a particular landowner will earn or how much carbon a specific development can offset. Treat them as context for the scale and uncertainty of the pathway, not as a procurement estimate or project promise.
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What should construction teams ask before making an underground-carbon claim?
Start by separating site stewardship from carbon accounting. A landscaping plan that improves soil condition may be worthwhile without proving a net removal. A storage proposal may have a long-term objective without showing that the specific formation, infrastructure and monitoring plan support that claim.
- What is the carbon source? Is the claim about atmospheric CO₂ removed into soil, existing soil carbon protected from loss, or captured CO₂ injected into rock?
- What is the baseline? What would happen to the site or emissions without the project, and how is additional benefit distinguished from ordinary practice?
- What is the boundary? Does the accounting include land disturbance, transport, energy use and other emissions relevant to the claimed benefit?
- How durable is the storage? What pathway-specific duration is being claimed, and what management, monitoring or response arrangements support it?
- What is actually verified? Ask for the method, sampling or monitoring record, uncertainty and responsible parties—not just a broad capacity estimate or a single test result.
- What are the local constraints? Soil conditions and land use matter for soil carbon; geology, location and infrastructure matter for storage. A global estimate cannot answer a site-specific feasibility question.
For a U.S. field reference, NRCS’s Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils is intended primarily for professionals describing soils. It is not a carbon test or a general consumer guide, and using a field book does not replace an appropriately designed carbon-monitoring program.
Does the key to cutting carbon lie beneath your feet?
Part of the answer does—but not as a single solution. Soil management can retain or add carbon, with meaningful potential but variable additionality, measurable uncertainty and reversal risk. Geological storage can offer much longer assessed storage duration, but only where suitable formations, infrastructure, site management and monitoring exist. For construction decisions, the practical lesson is to distinguish these pathways, protect and measure land responsibly, and treat every storage claim according to the evidence for that specific site. Above all, neither pathway changes the priority of reducing gross emissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a soil test tell me how much carbon my land will store in the future?
No. A test gives information about sampled soil at a point in time; it does not by itself predict future stock changes or establish that carbon was removed from the atmosphere. A forecast needs a defined baseline, an appropriate repeat-sampling method and assumptions about future management.
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Does soil carbon count as permanent carbon removal?
Not automatically. Soil stocks can change if land management or site conditions change, so claims need to account for reversal risk and distinguish newly added carbon from carbon that was already present.
Is carbon capture and storage the same thing as direct air capture?
No. Carbon capture and storage describes capturing CO₂ and storing it in geological formations, but the CO₂ source can differ. Direct air capture specifically takes CO₂ from ambient air; capture from an industrial source is not, by itself, atmospheric removal.
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Can any underground rock formation store carbon dioxide?
No. Storage requires suitable geology and site-specific assessment, as well as infrastructure and management. Broad global capacity estimates do not establish that a formation is accessible, permitted or appropriate for a particular project.
