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We evaluate the potential for global carbon storage in drylands as one of several policy options to reduce buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We use the GLOCO model, a global carbon cycle model with eight terrestrial biomes that are described mechanistically in detail in terms of the biological processes that involve carbon and nitrogen cycling and the effect of temperature on these processes. GLOCO also considers low-latitude and high-latitude oceans, each divided further into a surface layer and several deeper layers, with an explicit description of biogeochemical processes occurring in each layer, and exchanges among ocean reservoirs and the atmosphere. GLOCO is used to study the transient response of actual vegetation, which is more realistic than looking at equilibrium conditions of potential vegetation.

Using estimates of land suitable for restoration in woodlands, grasslands, and deserts, as well as estimates of the rate at which restoration can proceed, we estimate that carbon storage in these biomes can range up to 0.8 billion tons of carbon per year (Gt C/yr), for a combination of land management strategies, This corresponds to a reduction in atmospheric buildup of 0.5 Ct C/yr, which represents up to 15% of the average annual atmospheric carbon buildup in the next century, 3.5 Gt C/yr, assuming the IPCC 92d scenario. A global strategy for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration will require the implementation of multiple options. The advantage of carbon storage in restored drylands is that it comes as a side benefit to programs that are also justifiable in terms of land management.