Summary
This study presents a broad-scale radiocarbon and mineralogical dataset from sub-Saharan African soils to address a critical knowledge gap in understanding soil organic carbon persistence beyond temperate regions. The authors found that moderately weathered seasonal soils with reactive clay minerals retain organic carbon longer than expected (201–645 years across soil depths), whilst highly weathered humid soils store carbon for shorter periods (140–454 years). The findings suggest that pedo-climatic groupings—integrating climate, soil weathering, and mineralogy—could improve predictions of soil carbon dynamics and responses to climate change at regional and global scales.
UK applicability
The findings are primarily relevant to sub-Saharan African contexts and may have limited direct application to UK temperate soils, which typically experience different weathering regimes and climates. However, the methodological approach of using radiocarbon dating and mineralogy to predict soil carbon persistence could inform UK soil carbon monitoring and modelling efforts.
Key measures
Radiocarbon age of soil organic carbon (years); soil mineral composition and weathering state; soil depth (topsoil vs. subsoil); climate zone classification
Outcomes reported
The study measured radiocarbon ages and mineralogical properties of soil organic carbon across sub-Saharan African soils to determine how long carbon persists under different pedo-climatic conditions. Results showed marked differences in carbon persistence timescales between moderately weathered seasonal soils, highly weathered humid soils, and arid soils.
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