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The landscape of soil carbon data: Emerging questions, synergies and databases

Journal Article · · Progress in Physical Geography
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [1];  [8];  [9];  [1];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [1]
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  2. Wilfrid Laurier Univ., Waterloo, ON (Canada)
  3. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  4. ISRIC – World Soil Information, Wageningen (Netherlands)
  5. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD (United States)
  6. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Germany); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  7. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  8. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  9. U.S. Geological Survey, Boulder, CO (United States)
  10. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  11. Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland (United Kingdom)
  12. Stockholm Univ. (Sweden)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Soil carbon has been measured for over a century in applications ranging from understanding biogeochemical processes in natural ecosystems to quantifying the productivity and health of managed systems. Consolidating diverse soil carbon datasets is increasingly important to maximize their value, particularly with growing anthropogenic and climate change pressures. In this progress discussion, we describe recent advances in soil carbon data led by the International Soil Carbon Network and other networks. We highlight priority areas of research requiring soil carbon data, including (a) quantifying boreal, arctic and wetland carbon stocks, (b) understanding the timescales of soil carbon persistence using radiocarbon and chronosequence studies, (c) synthesizing long-term and experimental data to inform carbon stock vulnerability to global change, (d) quantifying root influences on soil carbon and (e) identifying gaps in model–data integration. Furthermore, we describe the landscape of soil datasets currently available, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses and synergies. Now more than ever, integrated soil data are needed to inform climate mitigation, land management and agricultural practices. This report will aid new data users in navigating various soil databases and encourage scientists to make their measurements publicly available and to join forces to find soil-related solutions.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1564214
Journal Information:
Progress in Physical Geography, Journal Name: Progress in Physical Geography Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 43; ISSN 0309-1333
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (2)

An open-source database for the synthesis of soil radiocarbon data: International Soil Radiocarbon Database (ISRaD) version 1.0 text January 2020
An open-source database for the synthesis of soil radiocarbon data: International Soil Radiocarbon Database (ISRaD) version 1.0 journal January 2020

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Soil carbon data
long-term ecological research
model–data integration
root traits
soil carbon stabilization
soil chronosequence
soil database
soil radiocarbon
wetland carbon