Hi eveyone,
Many papers focus on Soil C Stock which, as far as I understand, can be estimated with this simple formulae:
Total Organic Carbon (g C/kg soil) x Soil Bulk density (kg soil/ha) x Soil depth (m)
Some other works talk about Soil Organic C and express it with the same metrics (e.g. t C ha-1).
So, my questions are:
1) are SOC and Soil C Stock the same thing?
2) In not, does Soil C stock include also inorganic C?
3) How to compare research results expressed as SOC with ones expressed as Soil C Stock?
Hi Matteo,
Indeed SOC and total soil C are not the same thing, as the latter includes also the inorganic component. However, most of the soil C comes is in organic forms (90-98% usually), which is why must studies don't separate between the two (also because is really expensive).
So usually SOC and TSC are considered to be the same.
Additionally in your formula you may or not need soil depth (Should be soil TOC * BD * depth).
Hope this helps!
Guillermo
Hi Matteo,
Indeed SOC and total soil C are not the same thing, as the latter includes also the inorganic component. However, most of the soil C comes is in organic forms (90-98% usually), which is why must studies don't separate between the two (also because is really expensive).
So usually SOC and TSC are considered to be the same.
Additionally in your formula you may or not need soil depth (Should be soil TOC * BD * depth).
Hope this helps!
Guillermo
Earlier we used to express soil organic carbon(SOC) in percentage.Recently we have been expressing it in g/kg soil.With the climate change in sharp focus, now we are interested in carbon stock(multiplying with bulk density) in soil or in whole soil profile(further multiplying with depth).Carbon sequestration also assumed importance and we are expressing carbon sequestration also in carbon stock terms.There is a dimension of depth in carbon stocks as mentioned byDr.Guillermo.In carbon sequestration there is a dimension of time also.CaCO3 formed or precipitated in soil or in different depths also assumes importance in climate change mitigation .Probably the studies integratiog organic and inorganic carbon in whole profiles are not many.
Thank you very much Dr. Murray and Dr. Subba, Indeed I forgot to include the soil depth in the formulae. Now I've included it. Your explenation will be of great help to me.
Hello Matteo:
For the answers to your question:
1. I don't think SOC and C stock are the same thing. As you mentioned before, soil organic C stock= SOC concentration * bulk density. In the case of containing many gravels, the gravels should be excluded.
2. Soil C=soil organic carbon(SOC)+ soil inorganic carbon. It is common that soil inorganic carbon concentration is high in alkaline or calcareous soil.
3. I think the way to compare them is to do that when the units are the same (e.g kg/ha, g/kg). To compare SOC and C stock, maybe it is good to bulk density data.
Hope this can help you.
Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and Total Carbon (TC) are not the same. SOC are derived organic debris while TC is inclusive (organic and inorganic carbon)
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