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Environments
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Soil Organic Carbon Assessment, 2nd Edition
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Soil Organic Carbon Assessment, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 6540

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sutie Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA
Interests: soil health; soil biogeochemistry; carbon sequestration; nutrient management; sustainable agriculture; pasture management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jing Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geosystems Research Institute, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39759, USA
Interests: soil health; soil biogeochemistry; precision agriculture; uncrewed aircraft systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Virginia L. Jin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
USDA ARS, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
Interests: soil microbial ecology; carbon and nutrient cycling in agroecosystems; soil fertility; soil carbon storage; green-house gas production; agricultural management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Navreet Mahal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA
Interests: soil organic matter; soil health; soil organic carbon; soil nitrogen management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial C pool, and it plays a critical role in sustaining soil health. Multiple soil properties and processes are influenced by SOC, such as soil structure, nutrient dynamics, water conservation, and microorganism composition. Land use conversion and management may result in higher SOC loss and CO2 emission, while enhanced management strategies can promote SOC sequestration and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, assessing SOC in natural and agricultural ecosystems is critical in order to provide insights into the impact of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem services.

This Special Issue aims to present original research articles, reviews, and short communications concerning the following topics: (1) measuring and assessing SOC stocks and characteristics under sustainable agroecosystem management; (2) monitoring and modeling SOC dynamics in natural ecosystems affected by land use; (3) investigating SOC influenced by microbial processes; (4) plant root–soil interactions and SOC sequestration; and (5) SOC and greenhouse gas emissions influenced by temporal or spatial variability in the environment.

Dr. Sutie Xu
Dr. Jing Hu
Dr. Virginia L. Jin
Dr. Navreet Mahal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • carbon sequestration
  • carbon cycling
  • carbon pools
  • soil organic matter decomposition
  • land use
  • sustainable agriculture
  • rhizodeposition
  • soil microbial activities
  • soil respiration

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2983 KiB  
Article
Organic Carbon Stock in Mineral Soils in Cropland and Grassland in Latvia
by Guna Petaja, Ieva Ivbule, Zaiga Anna Zvaigzne, Dana Purviņa, Emīls Mārtiņš Upenieks, Ieva Līcīte and Andis Lazdiņš
Environments 2024, 11(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11040073 - 3 Apr 2024
Viewed by 2157
Abstract
This study aimed to assess soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and stock in mineral soils in cropland and grassland in Latvia, considering soil groups and texture classes. It covered 197 sites across Latvia (152 in cropland, 45 in grassland). Soil profile description and [...] Read more.
This study aimed to assess soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and stock in mineral soils in cropland and grassland in Latvia, considering soil groups and texture classes. It covered 197 sites across Latvia (152 in cropland, 45 in grassland). Soil profile description and sampling (at depths of 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–40 cm) were conducted between 2021 and 2023. Laboratory analyses included soil bulk density (SBD), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), carbonate content, pH, and extractable phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). SOC stock was calculated, and correlations with other soil parameters were determined. In cropland sites, Arenosols and Stagnosols had the lowest SOC concentration and stock, while Gleysols and Phaeozems had the highest. In grassland sites, Retisols exhibited the lowest SOC concentration in the 0–20 cm layer, while Planosols had the highest SOC concentration in this layer. Conversely, in the 20–40 cm layer, Retisols showed the highest SOC concentration, while Gleysols had the lowest concentration. Regarding SOC stock in grassland sites, Planosols exhibited the highest values, while the lowest values were observed for Retisols and Umbrisols. Contrary to our hypothesis that grassland exhibits higher SOC stock than cropland, our results show the reverse for Phaeozems, the dominant WRB soil group in this study: a higher average SOC concentration and stock in cropland compared to grassland. However, very low occurrence of some soil groups and lack of some soil groups for grassland sites hinders the correct interpretation of these results, and further investigations are required in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Organic Carbon Assessment, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 2993 KiB  
Article
Dryland Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks in Response to Cropping Systems and Nitrogen Fertilization
by Upendra M. Sainju
Environments 2024, 11(4), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11040070 - 2 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1454
Abstract
Innovative management practices are needed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector by enhancing soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, which serve as major reservoirs of C and N in the terrestrial ecosystem. The effect of cropping systems and [...] Read more.
Innovative management practices are needed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector by enhancing soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, which serve as major reservoirs of C and N in the terrestrial ecosystem. The effect of cropping systems and N fertilization rates were examined on soil organic C (SOC) and soil total N (STN) stocks at the 0–120 cm depth from 2011 to 2018 in a dryland farm in the US northern Great Plains. Cropping systems were no-till continuous spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (NTCW), no-till spring wheat–pea (Pisum sativum L.) (NTWP), no-till spring wheat–fallow (NTWF), and conventional till spring wheat–fallow (CTWF) and N fertilization rates were 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha−1 applied to spring wheat. The SOC and STN were greater for NTWP than other cropping systems at most N fertilization rates and depth layers. Increasing N fertilization rate increased SOC at 0–30 cm for NTWP and NTCW, but had a variable effect on STN for various cropping systems and soil depths. The NTWP with 50–100 kg N ha−1 can enhance SOC and STN at 0–30 cm compared to other cropping systems and N fertilization rates in the US northern Great Plains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Organic Carbon Assessment, 2nd Edition)
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10 pages, 563 KiB  
Article
The Labile and Resistant Soil Organic Carbon Pools in the North America Great Plains
by Yuch-Ping Hsieh
Environments 2023, 10(11), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10110197 - 16 Nov 2023
Viewed by 2019
Abstract
Among the three major global carbon cycle components, the terrestrial one has been the most uncertain because of the complexity of the soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Previous tracer studies, however, have shown that SOC consists of labile and resistant pools. Labile pools [...] Read more.
Among the three major global carbon cycle components, the terrestrial one has been the most uncertain because of the complexity of the soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Previous tracer studies, however, have shown that SOC consists of labile and resistant pools. Labile pools turn over in decades, and resistant pools turn over in hundreds or thousands of years. Labile pools are active in carbon and nutrient cycles and responsive to land-use management changes, whereas resistant pools are less so. Very few studies have actually quantified labile and resistant SOC pools because the isotopic tracer methods, such as the paired-plot bulk-carbon (PPBC) method, can only be applied to a few special cases. I found a study of SOC in the North America Great Plains, in which some of the data are suitable for the PPBC method. The results revealed that the turnover times of the labile SOC pools ranged from 17 years to 93 years, and the sizes ranged from 1.2 g kg−1 to 17.6 g kg−1. The turnover times of the resistant pools ranged from 899 years to 5138 years, and the sizes ranged from 5.0 g kg−1 to 12.4 g kg−1. Land management practices changed the sizes of the labile pools but not their turnover times. This study also pointed out a possibility that allows the application of the PPBC method to a set of much broader cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Organic Carbon Assessment, 2nd Edition)
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