Estimating carbon stocks in young moraine soils affected by erosion

In this paper the storage potential of soils within a heterogeneous structured hummocky young moraine region for organic carbon is discussed with respect to climate change and erosion. Erosion is discussed to be either a global terrestrial CO2 sink or a source. In hummocky young moraine regions of North East Germany water and tillage erosion are steadily changing factors since the beginning of arable landuse in ancient times. For such topographically complex landscapes the knowledge on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and the limits of carbon storage are still limited. Our objective is to combine data collected during former soil erosion studies with recent findings on (i) soil property and (ii) estimated “optimal” SOC data to predict the SOC storage related to tillage and crop rotation, among others. Classified catenae were analysed for texture, SOC, CO3-C, nutrient contents, and depth of weathering. Optimal SOC contents were estimated on the fine sized particle content. Arable soil at convex slope positions of steep catenae show 4 time smaller SOC stocks as compared to respective forest soils and to arable soils at concave position. Our findings suggest changes in SOC stocks to be almost exclusively related to decomposable carbon pools. Comparison of estimated optimal with measured SOC contents in soils at such positions indicated that such soils could potentially store a surplus of 0.6 to 0.8 g kg− 1. SOC protection at convex positions is limited by soil texture, and frequent truncation of the respective soil profiles. Whereas truncation followed by downhill transfer may bury SOC at sedimentation/concave positions resulting in long-term SOC storage as far as decomposition is prevented by site conditions.