Forest- and pasture-derived carbon contributions to carbon stocks and microbial respiration of tropical pasture soils

The clearing of tropical forest for pasture leads to important changes in soil organic carbon (C) stocks and cycling patterns. We used the naturally occurring distribution of¹³C in soil organic matter (SOM) to examine the roles of forest- and pasture-derived organic matter in the carbon balance in the soils of 3- to 81-year-old pastures created following deforestation in the western Brazilian Amazon Basin state of Rondônia. Different ¹³C values of C3 forest-derived C (-28) and C4 pasture-derived C (-13) allowed determination of the origin of total soil C and soil respiration. The ¹³C of total soil increased steadily across ecosystems from -27.8 in the forest to -15.8 in the 81-year-old pasture and indicated a replacement of forest-derived C with pasture-derived C. The ¹³C of respired CO₂ increased more rapidly from -26.5 in the forest to -17 in the 3- to 13-year-old pastures and indicated a faster shift in the origin of more labile SOM. In 3-year-old pasture, soil C derived from pasture grasses made up 69% of respired C but only 17% of total soil C in the top 10 cm. Soils of pastures 5 years old and older had higher total C stocks to 30 cm than the original forest. This occurred because pasture-derived C in soil organic matter increased more rapidly than forest-derived C was lost. The increase of pasture-derived C in soils of young pastures suggests that C inputs derived from pasture grasses play a critical role in development of soil C stocks in addition to fueling microbial respiration. Management practices that promote high grass production will likely result in greater inputs of grass-derived C to pasture soils and will be important for maintaining tropical pasture soil C stocks.     

森林草地转换对景观视觉效果的影响

基于景观保护的视点,定量研究了森林草地转换对景观视觉效果的影响．结果表明,中景域的可视区域比近景域和远景域大,草地建设对中景域景观视觉效果的影响也最大,因此,中景域是重要的景观保护对象．对草地内林地的可视量分析可知,各景域的可视林地多分布在400～600m高海拔上。25°以上的坡度范围内分布偏少．并探讨了草地建成后应采取的景观管理和保护对策,以增加草地景观的视觉效果．     

Changes in seasonal soil respiration with pasture conversion to forest in Atlantic Canada

This study compares approximately weekly soil respiration across two forest–pasture pairs with similar soil, topography and climate to document how conversion of pasture to forest alters net soil CO₂ respiration. Over the 2.5 year period of the study, we found that soil respiration was reduced by an average of 41% with conversion of pasture to forest on an annual basis. Both pastured sites showed similar annual soil respiration rates. Comparisons of the paired forests, one coniferous and the other broadleaf, only showed a significant difference over one annual cycle. Enhanced soil respiration in pastures may be the result of either enhanced root respiration and/or microbial respiration. Differences in pasture–forest soil respiration were primarily observed during the July through September summer period at all sites, suggesting that this is the critical period for observing and documenting differences. Evaluation of the soil microclimatic controls on soil respiration suggest that soil temperature exerts a major control on this process, and that examining these relationships on a seasonal rather than weekly basis provides the strongest relationships in poorly drained soils. Consistently greater pastured site Q ₁₀s (2.52;2.42) than forested site Q ₁₀s (2.27; 2.17) were observed, with paired-site differences of 0.25.     

Organic carbon stocks and sequestration rates of forest soils in Germany

The National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI) provides the Greenhouse Gas Reporting in Germany with a quantitative assessment of organic carbon (C) stocks and changes in forest soils. Carbon stocks of the organic layer and the mineral topsoil (30 cm) were estimated on the basis of ca. 1.800 plots sampled from 1987 to 1992 and resampled from 2006 to 2008 on a nationwide grid of 8 × 8 km. Organic layer C stock estimates were attributed to surveyed forest stands and CORINE land cover data. Mineral soil C stock estimates were linked with the distribution of dominant soil types according to the Soil Map of Germany (1 : 1 000 000) and subsequently related to the forest area. It appears that the C pool of the organic layer was largely depending on tree species and parent material, whereas the C pool of the mineral soil varied among soil groups. We identified the organic layer C pool as stable although C was significantly sequestered under coniferous forest at lowland sites. The mineral soils, however, sequestered 0.41 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1. Carbon pool changes were supposed to depend on stand age and forest transformation as well as an enhanced biomass input. Carbon stock changes were clearly attributed to parent material and soil groups as sandy soils sequestered higher amounts of C, whereas clayey and calcareous soils showed small gains and in some cases even losses of soil C. We further showed that the largest part of the overall sample variance was not explained by fine‐earth stock variances, rather by the C concentrations variance. The applied uncertainty analyses in this study link the variability of strata with measurement errors. In accordance to other studies for Central Europe, the results showed that the applied method enabled a reliable nationwide quantification of the soil C pool development for a certain period.     

Vegetation effects on phosphorus fractions in set-aside soils

As increasing amounts of arable land are being set aside, it is of importance to study the effect of vegetation on soil fertility. The fractionation of soil P under grassland, beech and spruce vegetation was investigated in sites previously fertilized with P by extracting sequentially with Resin, NaHCO₃, NaOH, HCl and finally NaOH after ultrasonic pretreatment. Under beech a large part of extractable P was found in inorganic fractions which are considered to be available for plants (Resin P₁ and Bicarbonate P₁). Under grass, a large part of the extractable P was found in potentially labile organic forms (Bicarbonate P_o and Fulvic acid P_o). After 25 years of permanent grass vegetation, the extractability of soil P was comparable to that from an adjacent arable plot. On spruce covered soils most of the added fertilizer P was rendered unextractable 20–30 years after application. However the available data does not allow a clear interpretation of this phenomena, as effects of soil parent material as well as vegetation may be taken into consideration. No decrease in P-extractability was found between beech and grass covered soils which had been fertilized for more than 200 years, when compared to less rich soils from the same area. On the basis of the current data it may be concluded that the vegetation affects the distribution of soil phosphorus fractions, and thus soil fertility. In the soils under investigation, grassland and beech vegetation conserved the phosphate availability to a high extent.     

Nutrient supply of forest soils in relation to management and site history

Internal and external factors like forest management practices and atmospheric deposition may have large influences on the nutrient supply of forest soils. Examples are given for the effects of tree species, harvesting, site history, changes of species and specific soil conditions, nitrogen deposition, and forest growth dynamics. It is concluded from these examples that all of these factors may contribute to soil acidification in forest ecosystems under humid temperate climatic conditions.     

Effect of conversion of sugarcane plantation to forest and pasture on soil carbon in Hawaii

It is well known that land use change can affect soil C storage of terrestrial ecosystems either by altering the biotic processes involved in carbon cycling or by altering abiotic processes such as carbon adsorption on soil minerals. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the dynamics of soil C pools after conversion of farmland to forest or pasture. We selected three pairs of secondary forests and pastures that originated from the same abandoned sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum spp.) land in the wet tropics of Hawaii to examine whether forest or pasture converted from farmland is more effective in sequestering C in soils. We compared the soil C pool, soil chemistry, and stable C isotope ratios between the forests and pastures. We found that total soil C was greater (P?<?0.01) in forests than in the pastures 22 years after land conversion. The percentages of SOC₄ in the pastures were significantly higher than in the secondary forests in both soil layers. The percentages of SOC₃ in the pastures were lower than in the secondary forests in both soil layers. The net SOC₃ increase in the forest soils at 0–10 and 10–25 cm was 28.6?±?5.6 and 43.9?±?3.2 Mg ha^?1 while net SOC₄ increase in pasture soils at these respective depths was 18.8?±?2.2 and 26.1?±?2.7 Mg ha^?1. We found that the net increases of SOC₃ in both soil layers in the forest were greater (P?<?0.01) than the net increases of SOC₄ in the respective soil layers in the pasture. Aluminum saturation was greater (P?<?0.01) in the forests than the pastures in both soil layers. There was no difference in oxalate extractable Fe concentration between the forests and the pastures but oxalate extractable Al concentration in both soil layers was greater (P?<?0.05) in forests than the pastures. Our findings indicated that reforestation of abandoned sugarcane farmland in Hawaii is more effective in soil C increase and stabilization than conversion to pasture.     

Nutrient stocks in a subtropical eucalypt forest,North Stradbroke Island

The concentrations and quantities of eleven essential plant nutrients in a 15 m tall Eucalyptus signata dominated forest have been determined. This forest of 180 habiomass is supported on one of the most phosphorus-deficient forest soils yet reported. The ecosystem is also particularly low in calcium, and relatively abundant in nitrogen. The nutrient stocks in the sclerophyllous heath understorey are only slightly more than half the quantity expected on the basis of their proportion of the total forest biomass occupied by this stratum. This lends some confirmatory evidence to the idea that the heath understorey of eucalypt forests is a separately evolved synusia adapted to soils of low fertility. Partitioning of nutrients among plant parts on this forest differs in a number of respects from other forests studied. This suggests the lack of strong selective pressure towards convergence of strategy between formations in the manner of partitioning of nutrients among forest components.     

Biological and geochemical controls on phosphorus fractions in semiarid soils

This study examined the concentration of organic and inorganicphosphorus in surface soils of a Boutelouagracilis-Bouteloua eriopoda grassland, and a Larreatridentata shrubland, in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, NewMexico, U.S.A. In this desert where the grassland vegetation has auniform spatial distribution and individual shrubs have a patchy spatialdistribution across the landscape, vegetation strongly influences thedistribution of soil nutrients. Most studies of soil phosphorusfractions in desert soils have focused primarily on inorganic Pfractions and have demonstrated the importance of geochemical controlson soil P cycling. The research presented here addressed the question ofwhether organic phosphorus, determined by the presence of differentvegetation types, also contributes to soil P cycling. Within soils ofsimilar age, topography, parent material, and climatic regime, sampleswere collected under and between vegetation and analyzed for P fractionsfollowing a modified sequential fractionation scheme. Most soilinorganic P was found in the HCl- and cHCl-extractable forms in both thegrassland and shrubland soils, indicating CaCO₃ control overphosphorus availability. In contrast, most soil organic P was bound toAl and Fe minerals. Labile, plant-available P fractions summed to9.5% of total P in the grassland and 6.1% in theshrubland. Organic P comprised 13.3% of the total phosphorus poolin the grassland and 12.0% in the shrubland. Our results showthat the organic P pool may represent an important, yet oftenoverlooked, source of P in semiarid ecosystems.     

Contemporary carbon stocks of mineral forest soils in the Swiss Alps

Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been identified as the main globalterrestrial carbon reservoir, but considerable uncertainty remains as toregional SOC variability and the distribution of C between vegetationand soil. We used gridded forest soil data (8–km × 8–km)representative of Swiss forests in terms of climate and forest typedistribution to analyse spatial patterns of mineral SOC stocks alonggradients in the European Alps for the year 1993. At stand level, meanSOC stocks of 98 t C ha^–1 (N = 168,coefficient of variation: 70%) were obtained for the entiremineral soil profile, 76 t C ha^–1 (N =137, CV: 50%) in 0–30 cm topsoil, and 62 t Cha^–1 (N = 156, CV: 46%) in0–20 cm topsoil. Extrapolating to national scale, we calculatedcontemporary SOC stocks of 110 Tg C (entire mineral soil, standarderror: 6 Tg C), 87 Tg C (0–30 cm topsoil, standarderror: 3.5 Tg C) and 70 Tg C (0–20 cm topsoil, standarderror: 2.5 Tg C) for mineral soils of accessible Swiss forests(1.1399 Mha). According to our estimate, the 0–20 cm layers ofmineral forest soils in Switzerland store about half of the Csequestered by forest trees (136 Tg C) and more than five times morethan organic horizons (13.2 Tg C).At stand level, regression analyses on the entire data set yielded nostrong climatic or topographic signature for forest SOC stocks in top(0–20 cm) and entire mineral soils across the Alps, despite thewide range of values of site parameters. Similarly, geostatisticalanalyses revealed no clear spatial trends for SOC in Switzerland at thescale of sampling. Using subsets, biotic, abiotic controls andcategorial variables (forest type, region) explained nearly 60%of the SOC variability in topsoil mineral layers (0–20 cm) forbroadleaf stands (N = 56), but only little of thevariability in needleleaf stands (N = 91,R ² = 0.23 for topsoil layers).Considerable uncertainties remain in assessments of SOC stocks, due tounquantified errors in soil density and rock fraction, lack of data onwithin-site SOC variability and missing or poorly quantifiedenvironmental control parameters. Considering further spatial SOCvariability, replicate pointwise soil sampling at 8–km × 8–kmresolution without organic horizons will thus hardly allow to detectchanges in SOC stocks in strongly heterogeneous mountain landscapes.     

From forest to cropland and pasture systems: a critical review of soil organic carbon stocks changes in Amazonia

The impact of deforestation on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is important in the context of climate change and agricultural soil use. Trends of SOC stock changes after agroecosystem establishment vary according to the spatial scale considered, and factors explaining these trends may differ sometimes according to meta‐analyses. We have reviewed the knowledge about changes in SOC stocks in Amazonia after the establishment of pasture or cropland, sought relationships between observed changes and soil, climatic variables and management practices, and synthesized the δ¹³C measured in pastures. Our dataset consisted of 21 studies mostly synchronic, across 52 sites (Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Suriname), totalling 70 forest–agroecosystem comparisons. We found that pastures (n = 52, mean age = 17.6 years) had slightly higher SOC stocks than forest (+6.8 ± 3.1 %), whereas croplands (n = 18, mean age = 8.7 years) had lower SOC stocks than forest (?8.5 ± 2.9 %). Annual precipitation and SOC stocks under forest had no effect on the SOC changes in the agroecosystems. For croplands, we found a lower SOC loss than other meta‐analyses, but the short time period after deforestation here could have reduced this loss. There was no clear effect of tillage on the SOC response. Management of pastures, whether they were degraded/nominal/improved, had no significant effect on SOC response. δ¹³C measurements on 16 pasture chronosequences showed that decay of forest‐derived SOC was variable, whereas pasture‐derived SOC was less so and was characterized by an accumulation plateau of 20 Mg SOC ha^?1 after 20 years. The large uncertainties in SOC response observed could be derived from the chronosequence approach, sensitive to natural soil variability and to human management practices. This study emphasizes the need for diachronic and long‐term studies, associated with better knowledge of agroecosystem management.     

中亚热带不同母质发育森林土壤磷组分特征及其影响因素

本研究以福建三明砂岩和花岗岩发育的米槠林土壤和杉木林土壤为对象,分析土壤磷组分、铁铝氧化物、微生物生物量以及磷酸酶活性等指标,研究母质和森林类型对土壤磷组分的影响程度和机制.结果表明:母质和森林类型显著影响土壤不同磷组分含量.总体上,砂岩发育土壤全磷含量、活性无机/有机磷、中等活性无机/有机磷以及惰性磷含量均显著高于花...     

Wheat, canola and grain legume access to soil phosphorus fractions differs in soils with contrasting phosphorus dynamics

Despite the high phosphorus (P) mobilizing capacity of many legumes, recent studies have found that, at least in calcareous soils, wheat is also able to access insoluble P fractions through yet unknown mechanism(s). We hypothesized that insoluble P fractions may be more available to non-legume plants in alkaline soils due to increased dissolution of the dominant calcium(Ca)-P pool into depleted labile P pools, whereas non-legumes may have limited access to insoluble P fractions in iron(Fe)- and aluminium(Al)-P dominated acid soils. Four crop species (faba bean, chickpea, wheat and canola) were grown on two acid and one alkaline soil under glasshouse conditions to examine rhizosphere processes and soil P fractions accessed. While all species generally depleted the H₂O-soluble inorganic P (water Pi) pool in all soils, there was no net depletion of the labile NaHCO₃-extractable inorganic P fraction (NaHCO₃ Pi) by any species in any soil. The NaOH-extractable P fraction (NaOH Pi) in the alkaline soil was the only non-labile Pi fraction depleted by all crops (particularly canola), possibly due to increases in rhizosphere pH. Chickpea mobilized the insoluble HCl Pi and residual P fractions; however, rhizosphere pH and carboxylate exudation could not fully explain all of the observed Pi depletion in each soil. All organic P fractions appeared highly recalcitrant, with the exception of some depletion of the NaHCO₃ Po fraction by faba bean in the acid soils. Chickpea and faba bean did not show a higher capacity than wheat or canola to mobilize insoluble P pools across all soil types, and the availability of various P fractions to legume and non-legume crops differed in soils with contrasting P dynamics.     

Nutrient hot spots in some sierra Nevada forest soils

Re-examination of data distributions from several forested sites in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains shows consistent, positive outliers and skew for NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^?, and mineral N in resin lysimeters and resin capsules, indicating that most values were low but hotspots of high N flux were present in most cases. Exact causes of these N flux hotspots is not known, but could include water flux hotspots (e.g., preferential flowpaths), microbial hotspots, and possibly the entry of N-enriched O horizon interflow. Soil and resin stake (PRS probe) data from one site (North Lake Tahoe) also showed consistent, positive outliers and skew for NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^? , and mineral N, suggesting the presence of microbially produced hotspots. Bicarbonate-P data from soils and ortho-P data from PRS probes also showed highly positive skew and extreme outliers, but Bray (HCl/NH₄F-extractable) P in soils did not. Other measured nutrients (extractable Mg²⁺, K⁺, SO₄ ^2?, and Ca²⁺) also showed positive skew and outliers, but less so than NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^?, and mineral N. Calcium stood out among measured nutrients as the most abundant nutrient with the least outliers and the lowest (sometimes negative) skew. The differences in distributions of NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^?, and mineral N and those of Ca²⁺ may reflect relative abundance: the most abundant ion, Ca²⁺, shows little evidence of hotspots whereas the much less abundant ions, NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^? consistently show evidence of hotspots. We hypothesize that the differing distributions of N and Ca reflect the relative biological competition for these nutrients and that positively-skewed distributions and hotspots will be characteristic of any other nutrient when it is in limited supply relative to biological demand.     

Forms and cycling of phosphorus in prairie and boreal forest soils

The distribution of soil P among inorganic and organic forms was examined in prairie and boreal forest soil profiles from Saskatchewan, Canada. A sequential extraction procedure was employed to separate P into labile and stable inorganic (P_i) and organic (P_o) fractions. Profile depth, climate, vegetation, and cultivation all had a major influence on the distribution of P which is attributed to differing intensities of pedogenic processes such as weathering and leaching, and their relationship to P transformations in the soil environment.     

退耕植茶地土壤团聚体及其无机磷组分分布特征

为了揭示土壤团聚体及其无机磷组分对退耕植茶的响应特征,以雅安市名山区中峰乡退耕植茶地(2～3年、9～10年、16～17年)为研究对象,选取邻近耕地为对照,采用野外调查与室内分析相结合的方法开展退耕植茶地土壤团聚体及其无机磷组分分布特征的研究.结果表明: 耕地及退耕植茶地土壤团聚体均以粒径>2 mm团聚体为主.随着退耕植茶年限的延长,各退耕植茶地粒径>5 mm的团聚体含量逐渐增加,粒径<5 mm的团聚体含量却逐渐降低.退耕植茶初期,退耕植茶地土壤团聚体平均质量直径(MWD)和几何平均直径(GMD)值与对照差异不明显,退耕植茶9～10年和退耕植茶16～17年显著高于对照,且随着退耕植茶年限的延长逐渐增大.退耕植茶地与耕地相比,其有效性较高的Al-P、Fe-P含量增加,有效性较低的O-P含量降低,随着退耕植茶年限的延长,各粒径团聚体中有效性较低的O-P逐渐降低,有效性较高的Al-P、Fe-P逐渐增加.耕地及退耕植茶地中Al-P、Ca-P含量随粒径的减小而增加,在<0.25 mm粒径中的含量最高;Fe-P在<0.25 mm粒径团聚体中的含量最多,其次是2～5 mm和0.25～0.5 mm粒径团聚体;退耕植茶后,O-P逐渐向较小粒径中富集,在<2 mm粒径中含量较高.     

Seasonal variation in organic and inorganic phosphorus fractions of temperate-climate sandy soils

Soils from an arable plot, a grassland plot and pasture plot were sampled over an 18-month period. Inorganic (P_i) and organic (P_o) soil phosphorus fractions were extracted sequentially with resin, NaHCO₃, and NaOH. Soil solution was sampled on the arable plot and pasture plot during 12 months with teflon suction cups, and the contents of P_i and P_o were determined.The patterns of the variation for all soil fractions were similar for the three plots. All soil P_i fractions were at minimum in the cool moist winter period. The soil P_o fractions varied less systematically than P_i fractions. The sum of P_o fractions had a winter maximum and a spring minimum. For all soil P fractions temporal variation was highly significant (p<0.0001). The magnitude of change in P_i and P_o soil fractions was 4–40 times greater than what would be expected from the magnitude of new N mineralization.The content of P in the inorganic soil P fractions was negatively correlated with soil moisture. The variation in organic soil P could not be explained by any single factor, but it is suggested that the variation is caused by changes in solubility rather than by biological transformations. Thus, physicochemical processes masked the impact of biological transformations on the temporal variation of soil phosphorus fractions.Both soil solution P_i and P_o varied significantly with time on field scale. In contrast to soil P_i fractions, solution P_i was initially low in the early autumn, increased by a factor 4 during the following 6 weeks, and thereafter decreased to a low level by the end of the sampling period. Soil solution P_o had several fluctuations during the sampling period.     

Net changes of soil C stocks in two grassland soils 26 months after simulated pasture renovation including biochar addition

The use of deep‐rooting pasture species as a management practice can increase the allocation of plant carbon (C) below ground and enhance C storage. A 2‐year lysimeter trial was set up to compare changes in C stocks of soils under either deep‐ or shallow‐rooting pastures and investigate whether biochar addition below the top 10 cm could promote root growth at depth. For this i) soil ploughing at cultivation was simulated in a silt loam soil and in a sandy soil by inverting the 0 to 10 and 10‐ to 20‐cm‐depth soil layers, and a distinctive biochar (selected for each soil to overcome soil‐specific plant growth limitations) was mixed at 10 Mg ha^?1 in the buried layer, where appropriate and ii) three pasture types with contrasting root systems were grown. In the silt loam, soil inversion resulted in a general loss of C (2.0–8.1 Mg ha^?1), particularly in the buried horizon, under shallow‐rooting pastures only. The addition of a C‐rich biochar (equivalent to 7.6 Mg C ha^?1) to this soil resulted in a net C gain (21–40% over the non‐biochar treatment, P < 0.10) in the buried layer under all pastures; this overcame the loss of C in this horizon under shallow‐rooting pastures. In the sandy soil, all pastures were able to maintain soil C stocks at 10–20 cm depth over time, with minor gains of C (1.6–5.1 Mg ha^?1) for the profile. In this soil, the exposure of a skeletal‐ and nutrient‐depleted soil layer at the surface may have fostered root growth at depth. The addition of a nutrient‐rich biochar (equivalent to 3.6 Mg C ha^?1) to this soil had no apparent effect on C stocks. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms through which soil C stocks at depth are preserved.     

土地利用方式转变后灰色森林土有机碳矿化的温度响应特征

通过室内培育试验,分析了土地利用方式转变后灰色森林土有机碳矿化过程及其对温度变化的响应特征.结果表明：原始林转变为农田后,0～10 cm、10～20 cm的土壤有机碳和全氮含量分别下降了68.5%、76.8%和40.5%、44.4%;而农田土壤有机碳的平均矿化速率和累积矿化量仅分别为原始林的24.4%～43.2%和9.20％～13.7％.低温条件下（<25 ℃）土壤有机碳矿化的温度敏感性显著高于高温条件下（>25 ℃）.低温条件下（<25 ℃）两种利用方式的土壤有机碳矿化对温度变化的敏感性没有显著差异;但高温条件下（>25 ℃）,农田0～10 cm土壤有机碳矿化的温度敏感性高于原始林,而农田10～20 cm土壤有机碳矿化的温度敏感性明显较低.     

Increasing the organic carbon stocks in mineral soils sequesters large amounts of phosphorus

Despite the fact that phosphorus (P) is critical for plant biomass production in many ecosystems, the implications of soil organic carbon (OC) sequestration for the P cycle have hardly been discussed yet. Thus, the aims of this study are, first, to synthesize results about the relationship between C and P in soil organic matter (SOM) and organic matter inputs to soils, second, to review processes that affect the C:P ratio of SOM, and third, to discuss implications of OC storage in terrestrial ecosystems for P sequestration. The study shows that the storage of OC in mineral soils leads to the sequestration of large amounts of organic phosphorus (OP) since SOM in mineral soils is very rich in P. The reasons for the strong enrichment of OP with respect to OC in soils are the mineralization of OC and the formation of microbial necromass that is P‐rich as well as the strong sorption of OP to mineral surfaces that prevents OP mineralization. In particular, the formation of mineral‐associated SOM that is favorable for storing OC in soil over decadal to centennial timescales sequesters large amounts of OP. Storage of 1,000 kg C in the clay size fraction in the topsoils of croplands sequesters 13.1 kg P. In contrast, the OC:OP ratios of wood and of peatlands are much larger than the ones in cropland soils. Thus, storage of C in wood in peatlands sequesters much less P than the storage of OC in mineral soils. In order to increase the C stocks in terrestrial ecosystems and to lock up as little P as possible, it would be more reasonable to protect and restore peatlands and to produce and preserve wood than to store OC in mineral soils.