Multiple soil map comparison highlights challenges for predicting topsoil organic carbon concentration at national scale

Feeney, C.J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2175-1842; Cosby, B.J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5645-3373; Robinson, D.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7290-4867; Thomas, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4929-7285; Emmett, B.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-4389; Henrys, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4758-1482. 2022 Multiple soil map comparison highlights challenges for predicting topsoil organic carbon concentration at national scale. Scientific Reports, 12, 1379. 13, pp. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05476-5

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Abstract/Summary

Soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration is the fundamental indicator of soil health, underpinning food production and climate change mitigation. SOC storage is highly sensitive to several dynamic environmental drivers, with approximately one third of soils degraded and losing carbon worldwide. Digital soil mapping illuminates where hotspots of SOC storage occur and where losses to the atmosphere are most likely. Yet, attempts to map SOC often disagree. Here we compare national scale SOC concentration map products to reveal agreement of data in mineral soils, with progressively poorer agreement in organo-mineral and organic soils. Divergences in map predictions from each other and survey data widen in the high SOC content land types we stratified. Given the disparities are highest in carbon rich soils, efforts are required to reduce these uncertainties to increase confidence in mapping SOC storage and predicting where change may be important at national to global scales. Our map comparison results could be used to identify SOC risk where concentrations are high and should be conserved, and where uncertainty is high and further monitoring should be targeted. Reducing inter-map uncertainty will rely on addressing statistical limitations and including covariates that capture convergence of physical factors that produce high SOC contents.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05476-5
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2045-2322
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	biogeochemistry, carbon cycle
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Agriculture and Soil Science
Date made live:	27 Jan 2022 17:16 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531838

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