The current global warming can only be stopped if greenhouse gas emissions are avoided in all areas and - where possible - greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, are incorporated into storage media. Plants can absorb carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis and store it for some time in their biomass, soil and other reservoirs. Near-natural ecosystems only emit a small amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. In contrast, some intensively utilised ecosystems actually release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A high level of carbon sequestration with the lowest possible release of greenhouse gases is an important contribution to minimising the negative consequences of climate change.

The ecosystem service of global climate protection by the reduction of greenhouse gases is modelled as an annual hectare value of emissions or sequestration of greenhouse gases. In addition to carbon dioxide (CO2), the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are also considered, which have a greater climate impact per ton than CO2 and were therefore converted into so-called CO2 equivalents (CO2-eq for short).

The values per hectare differ greatly between organic and mineral soils, as many ecosystems bind more CO2 in their mineral soils than they emit greenhouse gases; conversely, conventionally farmed organic soils predominantly release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through drainage and subsequent humus decomposition.

In 2018, all German ecosystems sequestered 28.9 million tons of CO2 more than greenhouse gases were emitted, the majority of which (11.7 million tons) were sequestered in Bavaria. This balance is the difference between various sub-processes. These include the sequestation of 69 million tons of CO2 in the forests and emissions of 33 million ton of CO2 equivalents from agricultural land. However, soil drainage and nitrogen fertilisation are primarily responsible for the latter, which could be avoided or reduced with ecologically appropriate use.