The increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere have become a major environmental challenge due to their contribution to global warming. The primary drivers of the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are the combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, agricultural practices, or the production of cement, which play a significant role in the increase of CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. However, efforts are being made to mitigate the negative effects of CO₂ emissions, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that aim to capture CO₂ from industrial processes and store it in underground geological formations. Methane, another potent greenhouse gas, is another major contributor to climate change and is mainly produced by agricultural activities such as livestock farming and rice cultivation. To address this, sustainable agricultural practices, such as reducing meat consumption and adopting climate-smart farming techniques, are crucial. Ultimately, a sustainable future can be secured for the planet and future generations by implementing effective measures, such as the use of sustainable energy sources, improvements in energy efficiency, responsible land use practices, and reducing the emissions of both CO₂ and methane.

This review article aims to acknowledge the multifaceted functions of soil, and given its status as the largest terrestrial carbon store, to reaffirm its previously established importance in carbon sequestration. The article outlines the key variables that affect soil’s ability to trap carbon and highlights the significance of soil in halting climate change. A bibliometric study of seven sets of keywords relating to the significance of soil in carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation laid the foundation for this review. The literature review that followed, which was based on the bibliometric analysis, concentrated on carbon sequestration and the impact of the key factors that affect the amount of organic carbon in soil, including (1) climatic conditions; (2) topography; (3) parent material; (4) organisms; and (5) soil qualities. The goal of this review article is to recognize the diverse roles of soil, while reasserting its well-documented significance in carbon sequestration. This is particularly important considering soil’s position as the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon.

Today, climate change is assumed by many researchers and scholars as a certainty and is presented as the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. It is commonly accepted that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause that is accelerating the process. Therefore, it is urgent to find solutions to mitigate climate change, mainly because the intense effects have already been felt, in many cases in the form of the occurrence of extremely violent weather events. Forests are undoubtedly one of the most effective and easiest ways to provide the function of carbon sinks. However, it is essential and convenient to analyze the permanence time of this carbon in forests, because this permanence time depends directly on the forest management model used. This article aims to analyze forest management models from the perspective of carbon residence time in temperate forests, dividing the models into three types, namely carbon conservation models, carbon storage models, and carbon substitution models, according to their ability to contribute to functioning as carbon sinks, thereby contributing to the mitigation of climate change.

The growing search for alternative energy sources is not only due to the present shortage of non-renewable energy sources, but also due to their negative environmental impacts. Therefore, a lot of attention is drawn to the use of biomass as a renewable energy source. However, using biomass in its natural state has not proven to be an efficient technique, giving rise to a wide range of processing treatments that enhance the properties of biomass as an energy source. Torrefaction is a thermal process that enhances the properties of biomass through its thermal decomposition at temperatures between 200 and 300 °C. The torrefaction process is defined by several parameters, which also have impacts on the final quality of the torrefied biomass. The final quality is measured by considering parameters, such as humidity, heating value (HV), and grindability. Studies have focused on maximizing the torrefied biomass’ quality using the best possible combination for the different parameters. The main objective of this article is to present new information regarding the conventional torrefaction process, as well as study the innovative techniques that have been in development for the improvement of the torrefied biomass qualities. With this study, conclusions were made regarding the importance of torrefaction in the energy field, after considering the economic status of this renewable resource. The importance of the torrefaction parameters on the final properties of torrefied biomass was also highly considered, as well as the importance of the reactor scales for the definition of ideal protocols.