Abstract
About 40% of the soil carbon (C) stock to 200-cm (79-in) soil depth in the conterminous U.S. (CONUS, i.e., the 48 adjoining U.S. states on the continent of North America) is comprised of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), estimated at 54.1 Pg C (59.6 million tn C). Soil and land-use management practices affect SIC with croplands and shrublands having the highest SIC stocks. The SIC consists of carbonates and bicarbonates, further differentiated as primary or lithogenic carbonates inherited from calcareous soil parent material or newly formed secondary or pedogenic carbonates. The formation of the latter can be an effective soil C sequestration mechanism when calcium (Ca) precipitated with pedogenic carbonates is released directly from silicates resulting in the formation of silicatic pedogenic carbonates. Unlike SOC which is controlled primarily by the vegetative community, SIC stocks can continue to accumulate over hundreds of thousands of years to highly concentrated levels, such as those in petrocalcic horizons. Thus, the changes in the SIC stock must also be considered in a credible assessment of soil C sequestration in terrestrial biomes of the U.S. aside that of changes in the SOC stock. Carbonate rocks are pure limestone, chalk, dolomitic limestone, dolostone and dolomite, and are found on 15% of the non-glaciated area of North America. Calcareous bedrocks are widely distributed in the U.S. Formation and accumulation of secondary carbonates (calcification) occurs in about 10% of U.S. soil area. Formation of SIC in terrestrial biomes of the U.S. can be enhanced by: (i) irrigation management, (ii) additions of dolomite, gypsum or lime, and magnesium (Mg) with rock minerals, and (iii) application of organic and mineral amendments resulting in higher soil inputs of Ca2+, Mg2+ and/or sodium (Na+). However, soil analysis does not routinely distinguish between lithogenic from pedogenic carbonates. Thus, the contribution of SIC formation to soil C sequestration in terrestrial biomes of the U.S. is a researchable priority. This chapter begins with an overview on processes resulting in SIC sequestration. Then, evidence for the occurrence of primary or lithogenic and for secondary or pedogenic carbonates in soils of the U.S. is presented. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how SIC stocks can potentially be managed.
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Lorenz, K., Lal, R. (2022). Soil Inorganic Carbon Stocks in Terrestrial Biomes. In: Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Biomes of the United States. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95193-1_4
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