Journal article
Drivers of Input and Stabilisation Control Subsoil Organic Carbon Content in Perennial Pasture Grazing Systems
Soil systems, Vol.10(2), pp.1-21
20/02/2026
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Abstract
Subsoil (30–100 cm) soil organic carbon (SOC) is a poorly constrained but potentially significant component of terrestrial carbon budgets. While controls on subsoil SOC are likely to differ from those affecting topsoil, few studies have quantified them. This study quantified subsoil (30–100 cm) SOC stocks and identified the controls on its spatial distribution across perennial grazing systems in northeast New South Wales, Australia. SOC was measured to 1 m depth across 54 long-term perennial pasture grazing paddocks on nine farms. A Random Forest regression model was then used to determine the relationship between subsoil SOC and drivers represented by the scorpan model of soil formation. Subsoil SOC contributed ~50% of total SOC stocks in the top metre of soil, with a median of 65.8 t ha−1 stored in subsoil. Our study found that drivers of SOC input and turnover (subsoil total nitrogen, 10–30 cm SOC content, and climate), as well as pedogenic processes influencing SOC stabilisation (weathering index), were the most important factors in the determination of subsoil SOC content. This contrasts with previous findings where abiotic factors linked to parent material and soil properties were the major controls on subsoil SOC distribution and highlights links between both input and stabilisation in perennial grazing systems.
Details
- Title
- Drivers of Input and Stabilisation Control Subsoil Organic Carbon Content in Perennial Pasture Grazing Systems
- Creators
- Evanna McGuinness - Southern Cross UniversityAbraham J. Gibson - Southern Cross UniversityJoanne Oakes - Southern Cross UniversityMark Farrell - Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Australia)Naomi S. Wells - Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Australia)
- Publication Details
- Soil systems, Vol.10(2), pp.1-21
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Number of pages
- 21
- Grant note
- This project and APC were funded by the Co-operative Research Centre for High Performance Soils through project number SPJA2.S.004.
- Identifiers
- 991013355506802368
- Copyright
- © 2026 by the authors.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article