Carbon sequestration is a topic worth exploring for its potential impact in Iowa and its benefits to Iowa producers, which include improving agricultural production, restoring environmental quality, and fostering long-term sustainability. It may even aid in reducing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂). The levels of CO₂ have increased significantly over the past century, and although doubt remains regarding the cause--human activity or a natural cyclical change in the environment--there is general agreement that concentrations of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases (gases that trap radiant energy from the sun, thereby heating the earth) have risen as a result of human activity.