How do soils retain organic carbon across different soil textures?

Based on a large number of study sites across Germany from the national agricultural soil survey, this publication explores hashtag#OrganicCarbon retention along carbon gradients in sandy, loamy, and clayey soils.

🔍The figure below shows an example for sandy soils, often considered most restricted in carbon storage. We found that their potential is shaped by starting carbon levels rather than texture.

🔬We used hashtag#NanoSIMS imaging to visualize the patchy distribution of soil organic matter at the microscale. While sandy soils showed greater coverage of organic matter patches, the co-location of 13C hotspots was shaped by initial carbon content.

📄 Full study available here: https://lnkd.in/e-mxH7wa

A big thank you to the fantastic collaborators at the Thünen Institute, Neha Begill, Christopher Poeplau, Axel Don, and Marcus Schiedung for leading this work!