Spatiotemporal modeling of soil organic carbon stocks across a subtropical region

Given the significance and complex nature of soil organic carbon in the context of the global carbon cycle, the need exists for more accurate and economically feasible means of soil organic carbon analysis and its underlying spatial variation at regional scale. The overarching goal of this study was to assess both the spatial and temporal variability of soil organic carbon within a subtropical region of Florida, USA. Specifically, the objectives were to: i) quantify regional soil organic carbon stocks for historical and current conditions and ii) determine whether the soils have acted as a net sink or a net source for atmospheric carbon-dioxide over an approximate 40 year time period. To achieve these objectives, geostatistical interpolation models were used in conjunction with “historical” and “current” datasets to predict soil organic carbon stocks for the upper 20 cm soil profile of the study area. Soil organic carbon estimates derived from the models ranged from 102 to 108 Tg for historical conditions and 211 to 320 Tg for current conditions, indicating that soils in the study area have acted as a net sink for atmospheric carbon over the last 40 years. A paired resampling of historical sites supported the geostatistical estimates, and resulted in an average increase of 0.8 g carbon m− 2 yr− 1 across all collocated samples. Accurately assessing the spatial and temporal state of soil organic carbon at regional scale is critical to further our understanding of global carbon stocks and provide a baseline so that the effects sustainable land use policy can be evaluated.