Networking our science to characterize the state,vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter |
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| Authors: | Jennifer W Harden Gustaf Hugelius Anders Ahlström Joseph C Blankinship Ben Bond‐Lamberty Corey R Lawrence Julie Loisel Avni Malhotra Robert B Jackson Stephen Ogle Claire Phillips Rebecca Ryals Katherine Todd‐Brown Rodrigo Vargas Sintana E Vergara M Francesca Cotrufo Marco Keiluweit Katherine A Heckman Susan E Crow Whendee L Silver Marcia DeLonge Lucas E Nave |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;2. U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA;3. Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;4. Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund, Sweden;5. Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA;6. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joint Global Change Research Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA;7. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA;8. Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA;9. Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA;10. Woods Institute for the Environment and Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;11. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, CO, USA;12. USDA‐ARS Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit, Corvallis, OR, USA;13. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA;14. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA;15. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA;16. Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA;17. School of Earth and Sustainability, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA;18. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Houghton, MI, USA;19. Food and Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, DC, USA;20. Biological Station and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Pellston, MI, USA |
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| Abstract: | Soil organic matter (SOM) supports the Earth's ability to sustain terrestrial ecosystems, provide food and fiber, and retains the largest pool of actively cycling carbon. Over 75% of the soil organic carbon (SOC) in the top meter of soil is directly affected by human land use. Large land areas have lost SOC as a result of land use practices, yet there are compensatory opportunities to enhance productivity and SOC storage in degraded lands through improved management practices. Large areas with and without intentional management are also being subjected to rapid changes in climate, making many SOC stocks vulnerable to losses by decomposition or disturbance. In order to quantify potential SOC losses or sequestration at field, regional, and global scales, measurements for detecting changes in SOC are needed. Such measurements and soil‐management best practices should be based on well established and emerging scientific understanding of processes of C stabilization and destabilization over various timescales, soil types, and spatial scales. As newly engaged members of the International Soil Carbon Network, we have identified gaps in data, modeling, and communication that underscore the need for an open, shared network to frame and guide the study of SOM and SOC and their management for sustained production and climate regulation. |
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| Keywords: | agricultural practices C cycling C sequestration global CO2 network soil soil carbon soil management |
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