Soil Organic Carbon depth profiles in relation to topographic parameters

We have to understand the spatial dynamics (horizontally and vertically) of the store of the Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) to manage soil resource. At large scale, a broad range of parameters is typically required. But regarding a smaller scale the bedrock and soils types are more homogenous. This study aims to characterize the relation of the vertical distribution of SOC content and the topography at the farm scale. For that, we sampled 19 cores up to 1m depth in different topographical contexts. We measured by spectroscopy the SOC content each 3cm along the core to establish a high resolution vertical distribution which we summa-rized by fitting of a cubic function. We show that these parameters are well explained by the slope and curva-ture (mean R² c. 0.5 for all parameters). These correlations were used to map the SOC content at GlobalSoil-Map depth layers

Broad-scale soil monitoring schemes

Soil resources provide many important ecosystem goods and services. However, they are at risk from a variety of threats operating over a broad range of scales. Political awareness that soil is threatened by increasing pressures has been rising for several years (European Commission 2006). Indeed, the demand for soil information is increasing continuously (Richer de Forges and Arrouays 2010). Although rates of soil degradation are often slow and only detectable over long timescales, they are often irreversible. Therefore, monitoring soil quality and condition is essential in order to detect adverse changes in their status at an early stage

Farm-Scale Soil Carbon Auditing

The soil system is recognized as a significant terrestrial sink of carbon. Estimates for the top meter of soil in the world range between 1,200 and 2,500 petagrams for organic C (Batjes 1996; Lal 2004). The reliable assessment and monitoring of soil carbon stocks is of key importance for soil conservation and in mitigation strategies for increased atmospheric carbon (Stockmann et al. 2013). Carbon credits are the heart of a cap-and-trade scheme, by offering a way to quantify carbon sequestered from the atmosphere; carbon credits gain a monetary value to offset a given amount of carbon dioxide releases (Paustian et al. 2009). The agricultural industry worldwide has the capacity to capture and store carbon emissions in soil (Paustian et al. 2000). However, there is still a debate on how soil can benefit for the offsets in the carbon economy because there is no good and efficient way of measuring soil carbon storage with appropriate statistical confidence (Post et al. 2001; Smith 2004b). A scheme that can measure and monitor soil carbon storage on a farm, which is crucial to the participation of the agricultural sector in the carbon economy, is essential

Towards long-Term standardised carbon and greenhouse gas observations for monitoring Europe's terrestrial ecosystems: A review

Research infrastructures play a key role in launching a new generation of integrated long-Term, geographically distributed observation programmes designed to monitor climate change, better understand its impacts on global ecosystems, and evaluate possible mitigation and adaptation strategies. The pan-European Integrated Carbon Observation System combines carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG; CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, H 2 O) observations within the atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and oceans. High-precision measurements are obtained using standardised methodologies, are centrally processed and openly available in a traceable and verifiable fashion in combination with detailed metadata. The Integrated Carbon Observation System ecosystem station network aims to sample climate and land-cover variability across Europe. In addition to GHG flux measurements, a large set of complementary data (including management practices, vegetation and soil characteristics) is collected to support the interpretation, spatial upscaling and modelling of observed ecosystem carbon and GHG dynamics. The applied sampling design was developed and formulated in protocols by the scientific community, representing a trade-off between an ideal dataset and practical feasibility. The use of open-Access, high-quality and multi-level data products by different user communities is crucial for the Integrated Carbon Observation System in order to achieve its scientific potential and societal value