Soil Organic Carbon Content

Soil organic carbon, the major component of soil organic matter, is extremely important in all soil processes. Organic material in the soil is essentially derived from residual plant and animal material, synthesised by microbes and decomposed under the influence of temperature, moisture and ambient soil conditions. The annual rate of loss of organic matter can vary greatly, depending on cultivation practices, the type of plant/crop cover, drainage status of the soil and weather conditions. There are two groups of factors that influence inherent organic matter content: natural factors (climate, soil parent material, land cover and/or vegetation and topography), and human-induced factors (land use, management and degradation).

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest carbon (C) stock in most terrestrial ecosystems (Lal, 2008a), containing  approximately 2344 Gt of organic C globally (Stockmann et al., 2013). Moreover, soil is recognized as the second largest C pool after the oceans and one of the most important components of the biosphere, delivering major ecosystem services and functions (Ogle & Paustian, 2005). Policy frameworks influencing land use and land use changes could trigger dramatic changes in SOC levels. At a global scale, guidelines to quantify changes in greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils, land-use changes and forestry categories have been adopted in the ‘Land Use, Land- Use Change and Forestry’ (LULUCF) activities, listed in articles 3.3 and 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol (UN, 1997). Following LULUCF Decision 529/2013 accounting for cropland and grazing land management has become mandatory for EU Member States.

European Soil Data Centre makes available the data and information on soil organic carbon both at European scale and Global scale.

 

Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 |

Soil organic carbon losses with lateral transfer to the oceans
Title: Soil organic carbon losses with lateral transfer to the oceans
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2024
Keywords: carbon losses |


Cover Crops across Europe
Title: Cover Crops across Europe
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Erosion by water, Soil Organic Carbon Content
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2023
Keywords: cover crops |

LUCAS 2018 TOPSOIL data
Title: LUCAS 2018 TOPSOIL data
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Point Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content, Soil Nutrients, Soil pH, Soil Sampling
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2022
Publisher: European Commission
Keywords: LUCAS | , LUCAS SOIL | , clay | , silt | , sand | , coarse fragments | , pH | , OC | , SOC | , Organic Carbon Content | , carbonates | , CaCO3 | , nitrogen | , phosphorous | , potassium | , N | , P | , K | , EC | , Electrical conductivity | , Oxalate extractable Fe | , Oxalate extractable Al |

Carbon mitigation potential and radiative agricultural land management
Title: Carbon mitigation potential and radiative agricultural land management
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Functions Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Country: Italy
Year: 2020
Publisher: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Language: en
Keywords: soil organic carbon |

Soil GHG fluxes using LUCAS soil-DayCent (for EU)
Title: Soil GHG fluxes using LUCAS soil-DayCent (for EU)
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Functions Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content, Soil climate regulation
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2018
Keywords: Climate change |

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Projections for Europe
Title: Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Projections for Europe
Resource Type: Datasets
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Author: Yusuf Yigini and Panos Panagos, European Commission
Year: 2016

Topsoil Soil Organic Carbon (LUCAS) for EU25
Title: Topsoil Soil Organic Carbon (LUCAS) for EU25
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content, Topsoil Soil Organic Carbon (LUCAS)
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2014
Publisher: European Commission Joint Research Centre
Keywords: SOC | , organic carbon | , content | , policy |

Pan-European SOC stock of agricultural soils
Title: Pan-European SOC stock of agricultural soils
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content, Agricultural SOC Stocks
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Year: 2013
Publisher: European Commission Joint Research Centre
Keywords: SOC | , Stocvks | , CAPRESE | , CENTURY |

Global Soil Organic Carbon Estimates
Title: Global Soil Organic Carbon Estimates
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Author: R. Hiederer, M. Köchy
Year: 2012
Publisher: Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
Keywords: organic carbon | , Harmonized World Soil Database | , Climate change |

OCTOP: Topsoil Organic Carbon Content for Europe
Title: OCTOP: Topsoil Organic Carbon Content for Europe
Resource Type: Datasets, Soil Threats Data
Theme/Sub-Theme: Soil Organic Carbon Content, European Data
Registration requested: Request Form
Continent:
Author: Jones, R.J.A., Hiederer, R., Rusco, E., Loveland, P.J. and Montanarella, L.
Year: 2004
Language: en
Keywords: organic carbon | , SOC | , octop |