New Organic Soil Carbon Estimate Offers Accurate Benchmark

Emory University reports that environmental scientists have combined field-level data with machine-learning techniques to estimate soil organic carbon at the U.S. continental scale. This new estimate indicates that soil contains about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and plants combined, and it provides a benchmark to guide adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. The estimate was developed from nearly 50,000 soil samples, combined with regional algorithms and environmental variables to improve accuracy. “To understand how soil carbon will change under a changing climate, we first need accurate estimates of current soil organic carbon levels and the key factors that influence them,” senior study author Debjani Sihi says. “Our new estimate is a step toward getting more accurate baseline data to improve Earth system models for climate change.”