Carbon credits are a potential source of funding for restoration initiatives that contribute to achieving conservation targets in important biodiversity areas. Here we investigated whether fallowing sequesters carbon; a first step in assessing the viability of using carbon financing to promote restoration of threatened vegetation in agricultural landscapes. We used renosterveld, critically endangered shrubland vegetation of the Cape Floristic Region, as a case study. Carbon stocks of soil and biomass inactive fields, fallow fields, and intact renosterveld were compared. The total carbon stocks measured in fallow fields (82 Mg C ha−1) show that fallowing can sequester carbon lost in the conversion from intact renosterveld (84 Mg C ha−1) to active fields (69 Mg C ha−1) and that revenues of US$ 10 – 48 ha−1 yr−1 from carbon credits could accrue. Our findings suggest that carbon financing could be used to incentivize ecological restoration in marginal agricultural landscapes.
