Terrestrial carbon sequestration is defined as either the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere or the prevention of CO2 net emissions from the terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere. There are two fundamental approaches to sequestering carbon in terrestrial ecosystems:

1. Protection of ecosystems that store carbon so that carbon stores can be maintained or increased; and
2. Manipulation of ecosystems to increase carbon sequestration beyond current conditions.

"Vegetation and soils are widely recognized as carbon storage sinks. The global biosphere absorbs roughly 2 billion tons of carbon annually, an amount equal to roughly one third of all global carbon emissions from human activity.

Significant amounts of this carbon remains stored in the roots of certain plants and in the soil. In fact, the inventory of carbon stored in the global ecosystem equals rougly 1,000 years worth of annual absorption, or 2 trillion tons of carbon." - ( US Department of Energy...)