Soil Carbon
Soil organic matter (OM) is a pervasive material composed of carbon (C) and other elements. It includes the O horizon (e.g., litter and duff), senesced plant materials within the mineral soil matrix, dead organisms (including macroorganisms and microorgan
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Soil Carbon Erin Berryman, Jeffrey Hatten, Deborah S. Page- Dumroese, Katherine A. Heckman, David V. D’Amore, Jennifer Puttere, Michael SanClements, Stephanie J. Connolly, Charles H. (Hobie) Perry, and Grant M. Domke
Introduction Soil organic matter (OM) is a pervasive material composed of carbon (C) and other elements. It includes the O horizon (e.g., litter and duff), senesced plant materials within the mineral soil matrix, dead organisms (including macroorganisms and microorganisms), microbial and root exudates, and organic materials adhering to mineral surfaces. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a very dynamic component of the soil; each year, the amount of SOC processed by microorganisms within the soil is roughly equal to the amount of inputs from plant detritus. The pervasive dynamic nature of SOC is key to the ecosystem services, or “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003), that SOC provides.
Sidebar 2.1 Tool and research needs pertaining to soil organic carbon • A mechanism to transfer knowledge about the new SOC paradigm to forest and rangeland managers and use that knowledge to develop best management practices for building up SOC
• Quantitative models of SOC stabilization and vulnerability designed for management applications (e.g., Forest Vegetation Simulator with SOC module) • Improved linkage of Ecological Site Descriptions to management actions that impact SOC • Synchronization of SOC data across multiple agencies and sampling initiatives • Models that link forest health and drought resistance to changes in SOC
Soil organic carbon is an essential indicator of soil health. Soil health refers to the “ability of soil to function effectively as a component of a healthy ecosystem” (Schoenholtz et al. 2000, p. 335). The quantity and quality of SOC are linked to important soil functions including nutrient mineralization, aggregate stability, trafficability, permeability to air, water retention, infiltration, and flood control (Box 2.1). In turn, these soil functions are correlated with a wide range of ecosystem properties. For example, high SOC in mineral soils is usually associated with high plant productivity (Oldfield et al. 2017), with subsequent positive implications for wild-
E. Berryman (*) Forest Health Protection, State and Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
D. V. D’Amore U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Juneau, AK, USA
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Health Assessment and Applied Sciences Team, Fort Collins, CO, USA e-mail: [email protected]
J. Puttere U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Springfield, OR, USA
J. Hatten Oregon State University, College of Forestry, Forest Engineering, Resources & Management, Corvallis, OR, USA
M. SanClements National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO, USA
D. S. Page-Dumroese Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Moscow, ID, USA K. A. Heckman U.S. Department of Agricu
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