Land-use induced soil carbon stabilization at the expense of rock derived nutrients: insights from pristine Andean soils.

ABSTRACT: Soils contain significantly more carbon than the atmosphere, hence we should understand how best to stabilize it. Unfortunately, the role of human interventions on soil organic carbon (SOC) persistence in the Anthropocene remains vague, lacking adequate sites that allow unbiased direct comparisons of pristine and human influenced soils. Here we present data from a unique study system in the High Andes that guarantees pristineness of the reference sites by physical inaccessibility through vertical cliffs. By comparing the isotopic signatures of SOC, mineral related carbon stabilization, and soil nutrient status across grazed versus pristine soils, we provide counterintuitive evidence that thousands of years of pastoralism increased soil C persistence. Mineral associated organic carbon (MAOC

SUBMITTER: Jungkunst HF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10027661 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature