A global database on land use and management change effects on soil KMnO4-oxidisable organic carbon (POXC)

TL;DR

This paper introduces a global database of soil permanganate-oxidisable carbon (POXC) to assess how land use and management changes affect soil health.

Contribution

The paper presents the largest compiled dataset of POXC measurements across diverse land uses and management practices.

Findings

Arable land had the most POXC comparisons, focusing on input changes and tillage intensity.

Grassland to arable land conversion was the most studied land-use change.

The dataset includes metadata on soil properties and data quality for 45 countries.

Abstract

Soil carbon transformation is vital for ecosystem functions like food production and climate regulation. While soil organic carbon is a key soil health indicator, its sensitivity to management changes is debated. Alternative indicators, such as permanganate-oxidisable carbon (POXC), are being explored. This database compiles 10,068 comparisons of soil POXC content from 284 peer-reviewed studies published up to 2023, covering 45 countries and 63 land use types, including arable land, grassland, agroforestry, and forests. Most studies focused on arable land (n = 7,809), examining input changes (n > 500) and tillage intensity (n > 200). The most studied land-use changes were grassland conversion to arable land (n = 324) and vice versa (n = 261). The dataset includes rich metadata on geographical context, soil types, key properties (pH, clay content), POXC protocols, and data quality scores. This resource supports scientific and policy discussions on POXC’s potential as a practical indicator for improving land use and soil health management.

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