Mean residence time of global topsoil organic carbon depends on temperature, precipitation and soil nitrogen

► Mean residence time (MRT) of topsoil carbon (SOC) turns over within years or decades. ► MRT of SOC is related with temperature, precipitation and topsoil N. ► MRT of SOC is lowest in low-latitude zones, increasing toward high-latitude zones. ► MRT anomalies decrease with the increase of temperature anomalies. ► The largest changes in MRT of SOC from 1960 to 2008 occurred in high-latitude regions.