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Organic Carbon in Soils of the World

Contribution from World Soil Resources, USDA Soil Conservation Service, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013

*Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

The C stored in soils is nearly three times that in the aboveground biomass and approximately double that in the atmosphere. Reliable estimates have been difficult to obtain due to a lack of global data on kinds of soils and the amount of C in each soil. With new data bases, our study is able to provide more reliable data than previous estimates. Globally, 1576 Pg of C is stored in soils, with 506 Pg (32%) of this in soils of the tropics. It is also estimated that 40% of the C in soils of the tropics is in forest soils. Other studies have shown that deforestation can result in 20 to 50% loss of this stored C, largely through erosion.

Received for publication April 20, 1992.

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