Minerals are widely assumed to protect organic matter (OM) from degradation in the
environment, promoting the persistence of carbon in soil and sediments. In this Review, we …

Background Soil organic matter (SOM) supports multiple soil ecosystem functions,
underpinned by processes such as C sequestration, N mineralization, aggregation …

Soils store more carbon than other terrestrial ecosystems,. How soil organic carbon (SOC)
forms and persists remains uncertain,, which makes it challenging to understand how it will …

Soil is the largest terrestrial reservoir of organic carbon and is central for climate change
mitigation and carbon-climate feedbacks. Chemical and physical associations of soil carbon …

The soil carbon (C) saturation concept suggests an upper limit to the storage of soil organic
carbon (SOC). It is set by the mechanisms that protect soil organic matter from …

The organic matter of living plants is the precursor material of the organic matter stored in
terrestrial soil ecosystems. Although a great deal of knowledge exists on the carbon turnover …

Microbial growth and respiration are at the core of the soil carbon (C) cycle, as these
microbial physiological performances ultimately determine the fate of soil C. Microbial C use …

Enhancing soil organic matter in agricultural soils has potential to contribute to climate
mitigation while also promoting soil health and resilience. However, soil carbon (C) …

Soil carbon sequestration is a recognized climate mitigation method, but it involves changes
in the practices of more than 0.5 billion farms worldwide. Regionally customized carbon …

Soils are hotspots of diversity and sustain many globally important functions. Here we focus
on the most burning issue: how to keep soils as carbon sinks while maintaining their …