Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · 2001 · 727 citations · 84 references
AgricultureEarth SciencesSoil SciencesBiogeochemistrySoil BiogeochemistrySoil Carbon DynamicsCarbon CycleCarbon SequestrationCarbon StorageClimate ChangeGreenhouse Gas ProductionCarbon Budget AnalysisCarbon Dioxide StorageCarbon Flux In SoilsGreenhouse Gas Emissions From SoilsHuman Disturbance EffectsSoil Carbon Dioxide FluxSoil Carbon PoolsSoil Carbon Stocks
▪ Abstract The global soil C reservoir, ∼1500 Gt of C (1 Gt = 10 12 kg of C), is dynamic on decadal time scales and is sensitive to climate and human disturbance. At present, as a result of land use, soil C is a source of atmospheric CO 2 in the tropics and possibly part of a sink in northern latitudes. Here I review the processes responsible for maintaining the global soil C reservoir and what is known about how it responds to direct and indirect human perturbations. “I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life” —William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
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