International initiatives are emphasizing the capture of atmospheric CO2 in soil organic C (SOC) to reduce the climatic footprint from agroecosystems. One approach to quantify the contribution of management practices towards that goal is through analysis of long-term experiments (LTEs). Our objectives were to analyze knowledge gained in literature reviews on SOC changes in LTEs, to evaluate the results regarding interactions with pedo-climatological factors, and to discuss disparities among reviews in data selection criteria. We summarized mean response ratios (RRs) and stock change rate (SCR) effect size indices from twenty reviews using paired comparisons (N). The highest RRs were found with manure applications (30%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89418), followed by aboveground crop residue retention and the use of cover crops (9\uffe2\uff80\uff9310%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89995 and 129), while the effect of nitrogen fertilization was lowest (6%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89846). SCR for nitrogen fertilization exceeded that for aboveground crop residue retention (233 versus 117\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0C\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89183 and 279) and was highest for manure applications and cover crops (409 and 331\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0C\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89217 and 176). When data allows, we recommend calculating both RR and SCR because it improves the interpretation. Our synthesis shows that results are not always consistent among reviews and that interaction with texture and climate remain inconclusive. Selection criteria for study durations are highly variable, resulting in irregular conclusions for the effect of time on changes in SOC. We also discuss the relationships of SOC changes with yield and cropping systems, as well as conceptual problems when scaling-up results obtained from field studies to regional levels. Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in agricultural land are an important part of the Land Use, Land\uffe2\uff80\uff90Use Change and Forestry component of national greenhouse gas emission inventories. Furthermore, as climate mitigation strategies and incentives for carbon farming are being developed, accurate estimates of SOC stocks are essential to verify any management\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced changes in SOC. Based on agricultural mineral soils in the Danish soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90monitoring network, we analysed management effects on SOC stocks using data from the two most recent surveys (2009 and 2019). Between 2009 and 2019, the average increase in SOC stock was 1.2\uffe2\uff80\uff89Mg C\uffe2\uff80\uff89ha \uffe2\uff88\uff921 for 0\uffe2\uff80\uff9350\uffe2\uff80\uff89cm despite a loss of 1.2\uffe2\uff80\uff89Mg\uffe2\uff80\uff89C\uffe2\uff80\uff89ha \uffe2\uff88\uff921 from the topsoil (0\uffe2\uff80\uff9325\uffe2\uff80\uff89cm), stressing the importance of including deeper soil layers in soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90monitoring networks. Comparing all four national surveys (1986, 1997, 2009, 2019), the mean SOC stock of mineral soils in Denmark appears stable. The change in SOC stock between 2009 and 2019 was analysed in detail in relation to management practices as reported by farmers. We found that the effects of single management factors were difficult to isolate from co\uffe2\uff80\uff90varying factors including soil parameters and that the use of farm management data to explain changes in SOC stocks observed in soil\uffe2\uff80\uff90monitoring networks appears limited. Uncertainty in SOC stock estimates also arises from low sampling frequency and statistical challenges related to regression to the mean. However, repeated stock measurements at decadal intervals still represent a benchmark for the overall development in regional and national SOC storage, as affected by actual farm management. There is growing international interest in better managing soils to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) content to contribute to climate change mitigation, to enhance resilience to climate change and to underpin food security, through initiatives such as international \uffe2\uff80\uff984p1000\uffe2\uff80\uff99 initiative and the FAO's Global assessment of SOC sequestration potential (GSOCseq) programme. Since SOC content of soils cannot be easily measured, a key barrier to implementing programmes to increase SOC at large scale, is the need for credible and reliable measurement/monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) platforms, both for national reporting and for emissions trading. Without such platforms, investments could be considered risky. In this paper, we review methods and challenges of measuring SOC change directly in soils, before examining some recent novel developments that show promise for quantifying SOC. We describe how repeat soil surveys are used to estimate changes in SOC over time, and how long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term experiments and space\uffe2\uff80\uff90for\uffe2\uff80\uff90time substitution sites can serve as sources of knowledge and can be used to test models, and as potential benchmark sites in global frameworks to estimate SOC change. We briefly consider models that can be used to simulate and project change in SOC and examine the MRV platforms for SOC change already in use in various countries/regions. In the final section, we bring together the various components described in this review, to describe a new vision for a global framework for MRV of SOC change, to support national and international initiatives seeking to effect change in the way we manage our soils.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 methodologies commonly underpin project\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale carbon accounting for changes in land use and management and are used in frameworks for Life Cycle Assessment and carbon footprinting of food and energy crops. These methodologies were intended for use at large spatial scales. This can introduce error in predictions at finer spatial scales. There is an urgent need for development and implementation of higher tier methodologies that can be applied at fine spatial scales (e.g. farm/project/plantation) for food and bioenergy crop greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting to facilitate decision making in the land\uffe2\uff80\uff90based sectors. Higher tier methods have been defined by IPCC and must be well evaluated and operate across a range of domains (e.g. climate region, soil type, crop type, topography), and must account for land use transitions and management changes being implemented. Furthermore, the data required to calibrate and drive the models used at higher tiers need to be available and applicable at fine spatial resolution, covering the meteorological, soil, cropping system and management domains, with quantified uncertainties. Testing the reliability of the models will require data either from sites with repeated measurements or from chronosequences. We review current global capability for estimating changes in soil carbon at fine spatial scales and present a vision for a framework capable of quantifying land use change and management impacts on soil carbon, which could be used for addressing issues such as bioenergy and biofuel sustainability, food security, forest protection, and direct/indirect impacts of land use change. The aim of this framework is to provide a globally accepted standard of carbon measurement and modelling appropriate for GHG accounting that could be applied at project to national scales (allowing outputs to be scaled up to a country level), to address the impacts of land use and land management change on soil carbon.
", "keywords": ["land use change", "Environmental Impact Assessment", "550", "ecosystem model", "Carbon Sequestration Science", "01 natural sciences", "7. Clean energy", "upland grassland", "soil", "stock change", "12. Responsible consumption", "11. Sustainability", "forest biomass", "Environmental assessment and monitoring", "soil carbon", "organic-matter", "agriculture", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "model", "Ecology", "land management", "assimilated carbon", "land use", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "long-term experiments", "southern brazil", "monitoring", "high temporal resolution", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "biodiversity conservation", "environment", "Environmental Sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02689.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02689.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02689.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02689.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-04-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2164/13497", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-13T16:27:02Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-08-30", "title": "How to measure, report and verify soil carbon change to realize the potential of soil carbon sequestration for atmospheric greenhouse gas removal", "description": "AbstractThere is growing international interest in better managing soils to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) content to contribute to climate change mitigation, to enhance resilience to climate change and to underpin food security, through initiatives such as international \uffe2\uff80\uff984p1000\uffe2\uff80\uff99 initiative and the FAO's Global assessment of SOC sequestration potential (GSOCseq) programme. Since SOC content of soils cannot be easily measured, a key barrier to implementing programmes to increase SOC at large scale, is the need for credible and reliable measurement/monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) platforms, both for national reporting and for emissions trading. Without such platforms, investments could be considered risky. In this paper, we review methods and challenges of measuring SOC change directly in soils, before examining some recent novel developments that show promise for quantifying SOC. We describe how repeat soil surveys are used to estimate changes in SOC over time, and how long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term experiments and space\uffe2\uff80\uff90for\uffe2\uff80\uff90time substitution sites can serve as sources of knowledge and can be used to test models, and as potential benchmark sites in global frameworks to estimate SOC change. We briefly consider models that can be used to simulate and project change in SOC and examine the MRV platforms for SOC change already in use in various countries/regions. In the final section, we bring together the various components described in this review, to describe a new vision for a global framework for MRV of SOC change, to support national and international initiatives seeking to effect change in the way we manage our soils.International initiatives are emphasizing the capture of atmospheric CO2 in soil organic C (SOC) to reduce the climatic footprint from agroecosystems. One approach to quantify the contribution of management practices towards that goal is through analysis of long-term experiments (LTEs). Our objectives were to analyze knowledge gained in literature reviews on SOC changes in LTEs, to evaluate the results regarding interactions with pedo-climatological factors, and to discuss disparities among reviews in data selection criteria. We summarized mean response ratios (RRs) and stock change rate (SCR) effect size indices from twenty reviews using paired comparisons (N). The highest RRs were found with manure applications (30%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89418), followed by aboveground crop residue retention and the use of cover crops (9\uffe2\uff80\uff9310%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89995 and 129), while the effect of nitrogen fertilization was lowest (6%, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89846). SCR for nitrogen fertilization exceeded that for aboveground crop residue retention (233 versus 117\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0C\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89183 and 279) and was highest for manure applications and cover crops (409 and 331\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0C\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921, N\uffe2\uff80\uff89=\uffe2\uff80\uff89217 and 176). When data allows, we recommend calculating both RR and SCR because it improves the interpretation. Our synthesis shows that results are not always consistent among reviews and that interaction with texture and climate remain inconclusive. Selection criteria for study durations are highly variable, resulting in irregular conclusions for the effect of time on changes in SOC. We also discuss the relationships of SOC changes with yield and cropping systems, as well as conceptual problems when scaling-up results obtained from field studies to regional levels.