Articles | Volume 1, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-351-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-351-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Review article
| 
16 Apr 2015
Review article |
| 16 Apr 2015
Global distribution of soil organic carbon – Part 1: Masses and frequency distributions of SOC stocks for the tropics, permafrost regions, wetlands, and the world
Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
now at: Thünen Institute of Market Analysis, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
R. Hiederer
Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
A. Freibauer
Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
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Using ranges for variables in a model of organic C stocks of the top 1m of soil on a global 0.5° grid, we assessed the (un)certainty of changes in stocks over the next 75 years. Changes are more certain where land-use change strongly affects carbon inputs and where higher temperatures and adequate moisture favour decomposition, e.g. tropical mountain forests. Global stocks will increase by 1% with a certainty of 75% if inputs to the soil increase due to CO₂ fertilization of the vegetation.
Merten Minke, Jürgen Augustin, Andrei Burlo, Tatsiana Yarmashuk, Hanna Chuvashova, Annett Thiele, Annette Freibauer, Vitalij Tikhonov, and Mathias Hoffmann
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We studied GHG emissions along water-level gradients of two inundated cutover fens with closed chambers. N2O fluxes were negligible. CO2 and CH4 fluxes were controlled by vegetation composition and plant productivity, which in turn depended on water level and nutrient conditions. CH4 fluxes from mesotrophic sites were low and largely compensated for by CO2 uptake. Eutrophic sites were strong CH4 sources, and GHG balances depended on the plant's net C sink, which strongly differed between species.
M. Köchy, A. Don, M. K. van der Molen, and A. Freibauer
SOIL, 1, 367–380, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-367-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-367-2015, 2015
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Using ranges for variables in a model of organic C stocks of the top 1m of soil on a global 0.5° grid, we assessed the (un)certainty of changes in stocks over the next 75 years. Changes are more certain where land-use change strongly affects carbon inputs and where higher temperatures and adequate moisture favour decomposition, e.g. tropical mountain forests. Global stocks will increase by 1% with a certainty of 75% if inputs to the soil increase due to CO₂ fertilization of the vegetation.
T. Leppelt, R. Dechow, S. Gebbert, A. Freibauer, A. Lohila, J. Augustin, M. Drösler, S. Fiedler, S. Glatzel, H. Höper, J. Järveoja, P. E. Lærke, M. Maljanen, Ü. Mander, P. Mäkiranta, K. Minkkinen, P. Ojanen, K. Regina, and M. Strömgren
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Biogeosciences, 11, 6187–6207, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6187-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6187-2014, 2014
T. Eickenscheidt, J. Heinichen, J. Augustin, A. Freibauer, and M. Drösler
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Biogeosciences, 11, 2309–2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2309-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2309-2014, 2014
K. Leiber-Sauheitl, R. Fuß, C. Voigt, and A. Freibauer
Biogeosciences, 11, 749–761, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-749-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-749-2014, 2014
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Soil as a resource
Long-term field experiments in Germany: classification and spatial representation
Adsorption to soils and biochemical characterization of commercial phytases
Development of a harmonised soil profile analytical database for Europe: a resource for supporting regional soil management
Arable soil formation and erosion: a hillslope-based cosmogenic nuclide study in the United Kingdom
Assessment and quantification of marginal lands for biomass production in Europe using soil-quality indicators
Physical, chemical, and mineralogical attributes of a representative group of soils from the eastern Amazon region in Brazil
Uncertainty indication in soil function maps – transparent and easy-to-use information to support sustainable use of soil resources
A systemic approach for modeling soil functions
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World's soils are under threat
Meike Grosse, Wilfried Hierold, Marlen C. Ahlborn, Hans-Peter Piepho, and Katharina Helming
SOIL, 6, 579–596, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-579-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-579-2020, 2020
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Agricultural long-term field experiments (LTFEs) are an important basis for soil and agricultural sciences. A compilation of metadata and research data from LTFEs in Germany shall enhance networking and simplify the access to this most valuable research infrastructure. The common analyses of similar LTFEs on different sites can broaden the results. Therefore, LTFEs were classified and their distribution in Germany was compared to three site classifications.
María Marta Caffaro, Karina Beatriz Balestrasse, and Gerardo Rubio
SOIL, 6, 153–162, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-153-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-153-2020, 2020
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Four commercial phytases were evaluated as candidates to be used as biological fertilizer to release inorganic phosphorus (P) from phytates and other soil P organic forms. All phytases were able to release inorganic P throughout the pH and temperature ranges for optimum crop production and had a low affinity for the solid phase, with some differences between them. These results indicate that the use of phytases to complement P fertilization may be a feasible tool to enhance soil P availability.
Jeppe Aagaard Kristensen, Thomas Balstrøm, Robert J. A. Jones, Arwyn Jones, Luca Montanarella, Panos Panagos, and Henrik Breuning-Madsen
SOIL, 5, 289–301, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-289-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-289-2019, 2019
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In a world of increasing pressure on our environment, large-scale knowledge about our soil resources is in high demand. We show how five decades of collaboration between EU member states resulted in a full-coverage soil profile analytical database for Europe (SPADE), with soil data provided by soil experts from each country. We show how the dataset can be applied to estimate soil organic carbon in Europe and suggest further improvement to this critical support tool in continental-scale policies.
Daniel L. Evans, John N. Quinton, Andrew M. Tye, Ángel Rodés, Jessica A. C. Davies, Simon M. Mudd, and Timothy A. Quine
SOIL, 5, 253–263, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-253-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-253-2019, 2019
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Policy to conserve thinning arable soils relies on a balance between the rates of soil erosion and soil formation. Our knowledge of the latter is meagre. Here, we present soil formation rates for an arable hillslope, the first of their kind globally, and a woodland hillslope, the first of their kind in Europe. Rates range between 26 and 96 mm kyr−1. On the arable site, erosion rates are 2 orders of magnitude greater, and in a worst-case scenario, bedrock exposure could occur in 212 years.
Werner Gerwin, Frank Repmann, Spyridon Galatsidas, Despoina Vlachaki, Nikos Gounaris, Wibke Baumgarten, Christiane Volkmann, Dimitrios Keramitzis, Fotis Kiourtsis, and Dirk Freese
SOIL, 4, 267–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-267-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-267-2018, 2018
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The need for biomass for energetic or material use is increasing parallel to the need to extend the production of food for a growing world population. This results in conflicts between both land use strategies. Use of marginal lands could solve this conflict, however, the understanding of marginal lands and the knowledge of their potentials are still not fully developed. We present an approach to assess land marginality based on soil quality and an estimation of land potentials all over Europe.
Edna Santos de Souza, Antonio Rodrigues Fernandes, Anderson Martins De Souza Braz, Fábio Júnior de Oliveira, Luís Reynaldo Ferracciú Alleoni, and Milton César Costa Campos
SOIL, 4, 195–212, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-195-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-195-2018, 2018
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The study refers to a survey of the attributes of the main soil classes of the state of Pará, an eastern Amazon region in Brazil. These soils have good potential for agricultural use under natural conditions. In this study we observed that the soils are predominantly kaolinitic, but have relatively low aluminum and organic matter contents, with huge textural variability. The results enable a better understanding of eastern Amazonian soils, whose area reaches more than 1.2 million km2.
Lucie Greiner, Madlene Nussbaum, Andreas Papritz, Stephan Zimmermann, Andreas Gubler, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, and Armin Keller
SOIL, 4, 123–139, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-123-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-123-2018, 2018
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To maintain the soil resource, spatial information on soil multi-functionality is key. Soil function (SF) maps rate soils potentials to fulfill a certain function, e.g., nutrient regulation. We show how uncertainties in predictions of soil properties generated by digital soil mapping propagate into soil function maps, present possibilities to display this uncertainty information and show that otherwise comparable SF assessment methods differ in their behaviour in view of uncertainty propagation.
Hans-Jörg Vogel, Stephan Bartke, Katrin Daedlow, Katharina Helming, Ingrid Kögel-Knabner, Birgit Lang, Eva Rabot, David Russell, Bastian Stößel, Ulrich Weller, Martin Wiesmeier, and Ute Wollschläger
SOIL, 4, 83–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-83-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-83-2018, 2018
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This paper deals with the importance of soil for our terrestrial environment and the need to predict the impact of soil management on the multitude of functions that soil provides. We suggest to consider soil as a self-organized complex system and provide a concept of how this could be achieved. This includes how soil research, currently fragmented into a number of more or less disjunct disciplines, may be integrated to substantially contribute to a science-based evaluation of soil functions.
Gerard Govers, Roel Merckx, Bas van Wesemael, and Kristof Van Oost
SOIL, 3, 45–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-45-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-45-2017, 2017
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We discuss pathways towards better soil protection in the 21st century. The efficacy of soil conservation technology is not a fundamental barrier for a more sustainable soil management. However, soil conservation is generally not directly beneficial to the farmer. We believe that the solution of this conundrum is a rapid, smart intensification of agriculture in the Global South. This will reduce the financial burden and will, at the same time, allow more effective conservation.
Luca Montanarella, Daniel Jon Pennock, Neil McKenzie, Mohamed Badraoui, Victor Chude, Isaurinda Baptista, Tekalign Mamo, Martin Yemefack, Mikha Singh Aulakh, Kazuyuki Yagi, Suk Young Hong, Pisoot Vijarnsorn, Gan-Lin Zhang, Dominique Arrouays, Helaina Black, Pavel Krasilnikov, Jaroslava Sobocká, Julio Alegre, Carlos Roberto Henriquez, Maria de Lourdes Mendonça-Santos, Miguel Taboada, David Espinosa-Victoria, Abdullah AlShankiti, Sayed Kazem AlaviPanah, Elsiddig Ahmed El Mustafa Elsheikh, Jon Hempel, Marta Camps Arbestain, Freddy Nachtergaele, and Ronald Vargas
SOIL, 2, 79–82, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-79-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-79-2016, 2016
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The Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils has completed the first State of the World's Soil Resources Report. The gravest threats were identified for all the regions of the world. This assessment forms a basis for future soil monitoring. The quality of soil information available for policy formulation must be improved.
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Short summary
Soils contain 1062Pg organic C (SOC) in 0-1m depth based on the adjusted Harmonized World Soil Database. Different estimates of bulk density of Histosols cause an uncertainty in the range of -56/+180Pg. We also report the frequency distribution of SOC stocks by continent, wetland type, and permafrost type. Using additional estimates for frozen and deeper soils, global soils are estimated to contain 1325Pg SOC in 0-1m and ca. 3000Pg, including deeper layers.
Soils contain 1062Pg organic C (SOC) in 0-1m depth based on the adjusted Harmonized World Soil...
