Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Agricultural Systems by Using Natural Abundance Signals of Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes

Abstract

Information on the stability and age of soil organic matter (SOM) pools is of vital importance for assessing the impact of soil management and environmental factors on SOM, an important part of the global carbon (C) cycle. The terrestrial soil organic C pool, up to a depth of 1 m, contains about 1500 Pg C (Batjes, 1996). This is about 2.5 times more organic C than the vegetation (650 Pg C) and about twice as much as in the atmosphere (750 Pg C) (Batjes, 1998), but the assessment of the stability and age of SOM using 14C radio carbon technique are expensive. Conen et al. (2008) developed a model to estimate the SOM stability based on the isotopic discrimination of 15N natural abundance by soil micro-organisms and the change in C/N ratio during organic matter decomposition, for steady state, Alpine and permanent grasslands. In the framework of the IAEA funded coordinated research project (CRP) on Soil Quality and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Food Production in Mulch based Cropping Systems in sub-Saharan Africa, research was initiated to use this model in agricultural systems for developing a cost effective and affordable technique for Member States to determine the stability of SOM.status: publishe