Soil carbon, multiple benefits

• By the year 2050 the Earth׳s soils will be required to provide multiple ecosystem services for an estimated 9.6 billion people.
• There is a need to create a global research programme to reduce the uncertainty associated with SOC management across terrestrial ecosystems.
• A new focus on soil carbon at all levels of governance for soil management would better enable the full potential of soil ecosystem services to be realised.

In March 2013, 40 leading experts from across the world gathered at a workshop, hosted by the European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Italy, to discuss the multiple benefits of soil carbon as part of a Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) project commissioned by Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). This collaboration led to the publication of the SCOPE Series Volume 71 “Soil Carbon: Science, Management and Policy for Multiple Benefits”; which brings together the essential scientific evidence and policy opportunities regarding the global importance of soil carbon. This short communication summarises the key messages of the assessment including research and policy implications.