Organic soils in Germany, their distribution and carbon stocks

• Nationwide dataset for organic soils in Germany as an integral part of the data for the climate reporting.
• Idealized soil profiles based on hydro-geomorphic site classification/mapping.
• Estimates of organic carbon stocks for organic soils in Germany.

The knowledge on spatial distribution and status of organic soils are essential for climate reporting and carbon stock calculations. In Germany so far, the official soil map at a scale of 1:1,000,000 is used. With respect to e.g. land use dependent calculations of greenhouse gas emissions, a significantly higher level of detail is required.The aim of this study was to establish a homogenous and nationwide dataset on the distribution of organic soils and their relevant soil properties for Germany at a sufficient spatial resolution.For the first time, a detailed and almost complete dataset on organic soils for Germany could be derived based on map legacy data, soil borehole databases and detailed data on topography, hydrology and geology accompanied by additional ground verification.Based on the new dataset, organic soils are estimated to cover 15,682 km2 of Germany (4.4% of the total area) and account for an organic carbon pool up to a depth of 2 m of nearly 1.3 Gt.