Soil organic carbon distribution in roadside soils of Singapore

•SOC densities (1.1–42.5 kg m−2) of Singapore's roadside soils are high and variable.•SOC was not related to aboveground vegetation or soil microbial biomass.•Land-use patterns best explained variance in SOC of Singapore's roadside soils.•SOC in Singapore's roadside soils appears to be inversely related to urbanization.

Soil is the largest pool of organic carbon in terrestrial systems and plays a key role in carbon cycle. Global population living in urban areas are increasing substantially; however, the effects of urbanization on soil carbon storage and distribution are largely unknown. Here, we characterized the soil organic carbon (SOC) in roadside soils across the city-state of Singapore. We tested three hypotheses that SOC contents (concentration and density) in Singapore would be positively related to aboveground tree biomass, soil microbial biomass and land-use patterns. Overall mean SOC concentrations and densities (0–100 cm) of Singapore's roadside soils were 29 g kg−1 (4–106 g kg−1) and 11 kg m−2 (1.1–42.5 kg m−2) with median values of 26 g kg−1 and 10 kg m−2, respectively. There was significantly higher concentration of organic carbon (10.3 g kg−1) in the top 0–30 cm soil depth compared to the deeper (30–50 cm, and 50–100 cm) soil depths. Singapore's roadside soils represent 4% of Singapore's land, but store 2.9 million Mg C (estimated range of 0.3–11 million Mg C). This amount of SOC is equivalent to 25% of annual anthropogenic C emissions in Singapore. Soil organic C contents in Singapore's soils were not related to aboveground vegetation or soil microbial biomass, whereas land-use patterns to best explain variance in SOC in Singapore's roadside soils. We found SOC in Singapore's roadside soils to be inversely related to urbanization. We conclude that high SOC in Singapore roadside soils are probably due to management, such as specifications of high quality top-soil, high use of irrigation and fertilization and also due to an optimal climate promoting rapid growth and biological activity.