Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics - News

Figure caption. Impact of 1 SD increase in soil salinity on topsoil (0 to 7 cm) organic carbon (OC) content at the location of soil profiles/samples, (A) in croplands and (B) in non-croplands. The maps show the GAMs’ predicted increase in topsoil OC levels resulting from a 1 SD rise in soil salinity, indicating the sensitivity of topsoil OC to changes in salinity. The right-side panels show a higher zoom level in Europe, where the data derived from the LUCAS topsoil dataset are predominantly located. The box charts include the median, lower, and upper quartiles, and nonoutlier minimum and maximum change values for major land cover types. (Afetr Hassani et al., 2024, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2317332121).

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is integral to terrestrial ecosystems, influencing soil health and ecological processes. Soil salinity, a growing concern due to climate change and human activities, can have either detrimental or beneficial effects on SOC. This analysis sheds light on the intricate relationship between salinity and SOC, revealing that soil salinity is negatively correlated with SOC content. Such insights are vital for addressing global challenges, including land degradation and climate change.

You can find more details in our recently published paper in PNAS:

Hassani, A., Smith, P., Shokri, N. (2024). Negative Correlation between Soil Salinity and Soil Organic Carbon Variability, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 121 (18) e2317332121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2317332121

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Our research on soil salinity and SOC appeared in PNAS