Global Sequestration Potential of Increased Organic Carbon in Cropland Soils

The role of soil organic carbon in global carbon cycles is receiving increasing attention both as a potentially large and uncertain source of CO2 emissions in response to predicted global temperature rises, and as a natural sink for carbon able to reduce atmospheric CO2. There is general agreement that the technical potential for sequestration of carbon in soil is significant, and some consensus on the magnitude of that potential. Croplands worldwide could sequester between 0.90 and 1.85 Pg C/yr, i.e. 26–53% of the target of the “4p1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate”. The importance of intensively cultivated regions such as North America, Europe, India and intensively cultivated areas in Africa, such as Ethiopia, is highlighted. Soil carbon sequestration and the conservation of existing soil carbon stocks, given its multiple benefits including improved food production, is an important mitigation pathway to achieve the less than 2 °C global target of the Paris Climate Agreement.


Description
These datasets provide per pixel (250m resolution) values of the soil organic carbon, potential soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years, and increase in soil organic carbon after 20 years, under a Medium and High Scenario (see Zomer et al., 2017) in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. It is developed from the ISRIC SoilGrids250 database (Data downloaded from: https://www.soilgrids.org) -Hengl et al., 2017.

Soil Organic Carbon in Tons per Hectare
These datasets present values in tons per hectare, but do not take into account the actual amount of cropland found within that grid cell.

Soil Organic Carbon on Croplands
File: soc_t1_30cm This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the soil organic carbon on cropland, globally, in tons per hectare (value x 100). The top 30 cm layer was constructed as weighted average of three soil depth layers: 0-5; 5-15; 15-30 cm.

File: soc_t2_me
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare (value x 100).

File: soc_t2_hi
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare (value x 100).

File: soc-dif_me
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the increase in soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare ( value x 100), i.e. the difference after 20 years (T2 -T1)

File: soc_dif_hi
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the increase in soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the High Scenario, in tons per hectare ( value x 100), i.e. the difference after 20 years (T2 -T1)

Soil Organic Carbon in Tons per Hectare per Grid Cell
These datasets present values in tons per hectare per grid cell, considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_t1_30cm
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the soil organic carbon on cropland, globally, in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_t2_me
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_t2_hi
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential soil organic carbon on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_dif_me
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential increase in soil organic carbon, i.e. the difference after 20 years (T2 -T1), on cropland after 20 years under the Medium Scenario, in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_dif_hi
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the potential increase in soil organic carbon, i.e. the difference after 20 years (T2 -T1), on cropland after 20 years, in tons per hectare (value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.

File: tc_ag_hi_c
This dataset provides per pixel (250m resolution) values of the soil organic carbon on cropland which has been classified as high SOC soils, i.e. > 400 tC/ha or bulk density < 1), globally, in tons per hectare ( value x 100), considering the percent of that grid cell which is classified as cropland in the GLC-Share (GLC-02) dataset. Multiply the value by 6.25 (the number of hectares per 250m grid cell) to obtain total tons of carbon per grid cell x 100.