Summary
This continental-scale analysis of 1601 soil samples from 17 sub-Saharan African countries examined the drivers of soil organic carbon variation across diverse climatic and edaphic conditions. Geochemical properties—particularly oxalate-extractable metals and exchangeable calcium—were found to be equally important as climatic variables in predicting SOC concentrations, together accounting for two-thirds of observed variation. The study demonstrates that SOC stabilisation mechanisms operate similarly across contrasting soil development histories in tropical and temperate regions, though their relative importance varies with weathering status and soil pH.
UK applicability
The findings that geochemical properties control SOC stabilisation are broadly applicable to UK temperate soils, though UK conditions feature different weathering histories and climatic drivers. The methodology and predictive framework may inform UK soil monitoring and carbon assessment strategies, but direct parameterisation would require UK-specific calibration.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon concentration (0–20 and 20–50 cm depths); oxalate-extractable aluminium and iron; exchangeable calcium; mean annual temperature; aridity index; soil pH; soil texture; land cover type
Outcomes reported
The study identified geochemical properties (oxalate-extractable metals and exchangeable cations) and climatic variables as the primary predictors of soil organic carbon concentrations across sub-Saharan Africa. These factors together explained approximately two-thirds of SOC variation, with differential importance depending on regional weathering status and soil pH.
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