A New Platform for Managing Soil Carbon and Soil Health

Comment on "Managing soil carbon" (II).

Lal et al. have recently argued (1, 2) that restoring soil carbon levels worldwide is important for a number of purposes, including reducing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. We agree, but we question how much eroded soil C is ultimately delivered to the atmosphere. Previous estimates of the proportion of eroded soil carbon oxidized range from 0% to near 100% (3, 4). We believe that the true val...

Comment on "Managing soil carbon" (I).

Managing Fertilizers to Enhance Soil Health

Soil organic carbon dynamics jointly controlled by climate, carbon inputs, soil properties and soil carbon fractions.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics are regulated by the complex interplay of climatic, edaphic and biotic conditions. However, the interrelation of SOC and these drivers and their potential connection networks are rarely assessed quantitatively. Using observations of SOC dynamics with detailed soil properties from 90 field trials at 28 sites under different agroecosystems across the Australian ...

Managing Soil Acidity

The minerals from which a soil is formed partly determine whether it is acid or alkaline. Soils formed from acidic rocks have a lower pH than those formed from basic rocks or alkaline parent material. Rainfall affects soil acidity development by leaching basic elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium from the soil profile, leaving the acidic elements: hydrogen, aluminum and ma...