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Soil carbon

About: Soil carbon is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 27324 publications have been published within this topic receiving 957438 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
Rattan Lal1
11 Jun 2004-Science
TL;DR: In this article, the carbon sink capacity of the world’s agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 66% of the historic carbon loss of 42 to 78 gigatons of carbon.
Abstract: :The carbon sink capacity of the world’s agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 66% of the historic carbon loss of 42 to 78 gigatons of carbon. The rate of soil organic carbon sequestration with adoption of recommended technologies depends on soil texture and structure, rainfall, temperature, farming system, and soil management. Strategies to increase the soil carbon pool include soil restoration and woodland regeneration, no-till farming, cover crops, nutrient management, manuring and sludge application, improved grazing, water conservation and harvesting, efficient irrigation, agroforestry practices, and growing energy crops on spare lands. An increase of 1 ton of soil carbon pool of degraded cropland soils may increase crop yield by 20 to 40 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) for wheat, 10 to 20 kg/ha for maize, and 0.5 to 1 kg/ha for cowpeas. As well as enhancing food security, carbon sequestration has the potential to offset fossilfuel emissions by 0.4 to 1.2 gigatons of carbon per year, or 5 to 15% of the global fossil-fuel emissions.

5,835 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Mar 2006-Nature
TL;DR: This work has suggested that several environmental constraints obscure the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of substrate decomposition, causing lower observed ‘apparent’ temperature sensitivity, and these constraints may, themselves, be sensitive to climate.
Abstract: Significantly more carbon is stored in the world's soils--including peatlands, wetlands and permafrost--than is present in the atmosphere. Disagreement exists, however, regarding the effects of climate change on global soil carbon stocks. If carbon stored belowground is transferred to the atmosphere by a warming-induced acceleration of its decomposition, a positive feedback to climate change would occur. Conversely, if increases of plant-derived carbon inputs to soils exceed increases in decomposition, the feedback would be negative. Despite much research, a consensus has not yet emerged on the temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition. Unravelling the feedback effect is particularly difficult, because the diverse soil organic compounds exhibit a wide range of kinetic properties, which determine the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of their decomposition. Moreover, several environmental constraints obscure the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of substrate decomposition, causing lower observed 'apparent' temperature sensitivity, and these constraints may, themselves, be sensitive to climate.

5,367 citations

BookDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a set of methods for soil sampling and analysis, such as: N.H.Hendershot, H.M.Hettiarachchi, C.C.De Freitas Arbuscular Mycorrhiza, Y.K.Soon and W.J.
Abstract: SOIL SAMPLING AND HANDLING, G.T. Patterson and M.R. Carter Soil Sampling Designs, D. Pennock, T. Yates, and J. Braidek Sampling Forest Soils, N. Belanger and K.C.J. Van Rees Measuring Change in Soil Organic Carbon Storage, B.H. Ellert, H.H. Janzen, A.J. VandenBygaart, and E. Bremer Soil Sample Handling and Storage, S.C. Sheppard and J.A. Addison Quality Control in Soil Chemical Analysis, C. Swyngedouw and R. Lessard DIAGNOSTIC METHODS for SOIL and ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, J.J. Schoenau and I.P. O'Halloran Nitrate and Exchangeable Ammonium Nitrogen, D.G. Maynard, Y.P. Kalra, and J.A. Crumbaugh Mehlich 3 Extractable Elements, N. Ziadi and T. Sen Tran Sodium Bicarbonate Extractable Phosphorus, J.J. Schoenau and I. P. O'Halloran Boron, Molybdenum and Selenium, G. M. Hettiarachchi and U. C. Gupta Trace Element Assessment, W.H. Hendershot, H. Lalande, D. Reyes, and D. MacDonald Readily Soluble Aluminum and Manganese in Acid Soils, Y.K. Soon, N. Belanger, and W.H. Hendershot Lime Requirement, N. Ziadi and T. Sen Tran Ion Supply Rates Using Ion Exchange Resins, P. Qian, J.J. Schoenau, and N. Ziadi Environmental Soil Phosphorus Indices, A.N. Sharpley, P.J.A. Kleinman and J.L. Weld Electrical Conductivity and Soluble Ions, J.J. Miller and D. Curtin SOIL CHEMICAL ANALYSES, Y.K. Soon and W.H. Hendershot Soil Reaction and Exchangeable Acidity, W.H. Hendershot, H. Laland,e and M. Duquette Collection and Characterization of Soil Solutions, J.D. MacDonald, N. Belanger, S. Sauve, F. Courchesne, and W.H. Hendershot Ion Exchange and Exchangeable Cations, W.H. Hendershot, H. Lalande, and M. Duquette Non-Exchangeable Ammonium, Y.K. Soon and B.C. Liang Carbonates, T.B. Goh and A.R. Mermut Total and Organic Carbon, J.O. Skjemstad and J.A. Baldock Total Nitrogen, P.M. Rutherford, W.B. McGill, C.T. Figueiredo, and J.M. Arocena Chemical Characterization of Soil Sulphur, C.G. Kowalenko and M. Grimmett Total and Organic Phosphorus, I.P. O'Halloran and B.J. Cade-Menum Characterization of Available P by Sequential Extraction, H. Tiessen and J.O. Moir Extractable Al, Fe, Mn, and Si, F. Courchesne and M.C. Turmel Determining Nutrient Availability in Forest Soils, N. Belanger, David Pare, and W.H. Hendershot Chemical Properties of Organic Soils, A. Karam SOIL BIOLOGICAL ANALYSES, E. Topp and C.A. Fox Cultural Methods for Soil and Root Associated Microorganisms, J.J. Germida and J.R. de Freitas Arbuscular Mycorrhiza, Y. Dalpe and C. Hamel Root Nodule Bacteria and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation, D. Prevost and H. Antoun Microarthropods, J.P Winter and V.M. Behan-Pelletier Nematodes, T.A. Forge and J. Kimpinski Earthworms, M.J. Clapperton, G.H. Baker and C.A. Fox Enchytraeids, S.M. Adl Protozoa, S.M. Adl, D. Acosta-Mercado, and D.H. Lynn Denitrification Techniques for Soils, C.F. Drury, D.D. Myrold, E.G. Beauchamp, and W.D.Reynolds Nitrification Techniques in Soil Systems, C.F. Drury, S.C. Hart, and X.M. Yang Substrate-Induced Respiration and Selective Inhibition as Measures of Microbial Biomass in Soils, V.L. Bailey, J.L. Smith, and H. Bolton Jr. Assessment of Soil Biological Activity, R.P.Beyaert and C.A. Fox Soil ATP, R.P. Voroney, G. Wen, and R.P. Beyaert Lipid-Based Community Analysis, K.E. Dunfield Bacterial Community Analyses by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), E. Topp, Y.-C. Tien, and A. Hartmann Indicators of Soil Food Web Properties, T.A. Forge and M. Tenuta SOIL ORGANIC MATTER ANALYSES, E.G. Gregorich and M.H. Beare Carbon Mineralization, D.W. Hopkins Mineralizable Nitrogen, Denis Curtin and C.A. Campbell Physically Uncomplexed Organic Matter, E.G. Gregorich and M.H. Beare Extraction and Characterization of Dissolved Organic Matter, M.H. Chantigny, D.A. Angers, K. Kaiser, and K. Kalbitz Soil Microbial Biomass C, N, P and S, R.P. Voroney, P.C. Brookes, and R.P. Beyaert Carbohydrates, M.H. Chantigny and D.A. Angers Organic Forms of Nitrogen, D.C. Olk Soil Humus Fractions, D.W. Anderson and J.J Schoenau Soil Organic Matter Analysis by Solid-State 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, M. J. Simpson and C. M. Preston Stable Isotopes in Soil and Environmental Research, B.H. Ellert and L. Rock SOIL PHYSICAL ANALYSES, D.A. Angers and F.J. Larney Particle Size Distribution, D. Kroetsch and C. Wang Soil Shrinkage, C.D. Grant Soil Density and Porosity, X. Hao, B.C. Ball, J.L.B. Culley, M.R. Carter, and G.W. Parkin Soil Consistency: Upper and Lower Plastic Limits, R.A. McBride Compaction and Compressibility, P. Defossez, T. Keller and G. Richard Field Soil Strength, G.C. Topp and D.R. Lapen Air Permeability, C.D. Grant and P.H. Groenevelt Aggregate Stability to Water, D.A. Angers, M.S. Bullock, and G.R. Mehuys Dry Aggregate Size Distribution, F.J. Larney Soil Air, R.E. Farrell and J.A. Elliott Soil-Surface Gas Emissions, P. Rochette and N. Bertrand Bulk Density Measurement in Forest Soils, D.G. Maynard and M.P. Curran Physical Properties of Organic Soils and Growing Media: Particle Size and Degree of Decomposition, L.E. Parent and J. Caron Physical Properties of Organic Soils and Growing Media: Water and Air Storage and Flow Dynamics, J. Caron, D.E. Elrick, J.C. Michel, and R. Naasz SOIL WATER ANALYSES, W.D. Reynolds and G.C. Topp Soil Water Analyses: Principles and Parameters, W.D. Reynolds and G.C. Topp Soil Water Content, G.C. Topp, G.W. Parkin, and Ty P.A Ferre Soil Water Potential, N.J. Livingston and G.C. Topp Soil Water Desorption and Imbibition: Tension and Pressure Techniques, W.D. Reynolds and G.C. Topp Soil Water Desorption and Imbibition: Long Column, W.D. Reynolds and G.C. Topp Soil Water Desorption and Imbibition: Psychrometry, W.D. Reynolds and G.C. Topp Saturated Hydraulic Properties: Laboratory Methods, W.D. Reynolds Saturated Hydraulic Properties: Well Permeameter, W.D. Reynolds Saturated Hydraulic Properties: Ring Infiltrometer, W.D. Reynolds Saturated Hydraulic Properties: Auger-Hole, G.C. Topp Saturated Hydraulic Properties: Piezometer, G.C. Topp Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties: Laboratory Tension Infiltrometer, F.J. Cook Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties: Laboratory Evaporation, O.O. B. Wendroth and N. Wypler Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties: Field Tension Infiltrometer, W.D. Reynolds Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties: Instantaneous Profile, W.D. Reynolds Estimation of Soil Hydraulic Properties, F.J. Cook and H.P. Cresswell Analysis of Soil Variability, B.C. Si, R.G. Kachanoski, and W.D. Reynolds APPENDIX Site Description, G.T. Patterson and J.A. Brierley General Safe Laboratory Operation Procedures, P. St-Georges INDEX

4,631 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the association of soil organic carbon (SOC) content with climate and soil texture at different soil depths, and tested the hypothesis that vegetation type, through patterns of allocation, is a dominant control on the vertical distribution of SOC.
Abstract: As the largest pool of terrestrial organic carbon, soils interact strongly with atmospheric composition, climate, and land cover change. Our capacity to predict and ameliorate the consequences of global change depends in part on a better understanding of the distributions and controls of soil organic carbon (SOC) and how vegetation change may affect SOC distributions with depth. The goals of this paper are (1) to examine the association of SOC content with climate and soil texture at different soil depths; (2) to test the hypothesis that vegetation type, through patterns of allocation, is a dominant control on the vertical distribution of SOC; and (3) to estimate global SOC storage to 3 m, including an analysis of the potential effects of vegetation change on soil carbon storage. We based our analysis on .2700 soil profiles in three global databases supplemented with data for climate, vegetation, and land use. The analysis focused on mineral soil layers. Plant functional types significantly affected the vertical distribution of SOC. The per- centage of SOC in the top 20 cm (relative to the first meter) averaged 33%, 42%, and 50% for shrublands, grasslands, and forests, respectively. In shrublands, the amount of SOC in the second and third meters was 77% of that in the first meter; in forests and grasslands, the totals were 56% and 43%, respectively. Globally, the relative distribution of SOC with depth had a slightly stronger association with vegetation than with climate, but the opposite was true for the absolute amount of SOC. Total SOC content increased with precipitation and clay content and decreased with temperature. The importance of these controls switched with depth, climate dominating in shallow layers and clay content dominating in deeper layers, possibly due to increasing percentages of slowly cycling SOC fractions at depth. To control for the effects of climate on vegetation, we grouped soils within climatic ranges and compared distributions for vegetation types within each range. The percentage of SOC in the top 20 cm relative to the first meter varied from 29% in cold arid shrublands to 57% in cold humid forests and, for a given climate, was always deepest in shrublands, inter- mediate in grasslands, and shallowest in forests ( P , 0.05 in all cases). The effect of vegetation type was more important than the direct effect of precipitation in this analysis. These data suggest that shoot/root allocations combined with vertical root distributions, affect the distribution of SOC with depth. Global SOC storage in the to p3mo fsoil was 2344 Pg C, or 56% more than the 1502 Pg estimated for the first meter (which is similar to the total SOC estimates of 1500-1600 Pg made by other researchers). Global totals for the second and third meters were 491 and 351 Pg C, and the biomes with the most SOC at 1-3 m depth were tropical evergreen forests (158 Pg C) and tropical grasslands/savannas (146 Pg C). Our work suggests that plant functional types, through differences in allocation, help to control SOC distributions with depth in the soil. Our analysis also highlights the potential importance of vegetation change and SOC pools for carbon sequestration strategies.

4,278 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20231,849
20223,215
20212,325
20202,097
20191,892
20181,779