A global, empirical, harmonized dataset of soil organic carbon changes under perennial crops

Authors: LEDO, ALICIA - University Of Aberdeen; HILLIER, JONATHAN - University Of Edinburgh; SMITH, PETE - University Of Aberdeen; AGUILERA, EDUARDO - Technical University Of Spain; BLAGODATSKIY, SERGEY - University Of Hohenheim; BREARLEY, FRANCIS - Manchester Metropolitan University; DATTA, ASHIM - Indian Council Of Agricultural Research (ICAR); DIAZ-PINES, EUGENIO - University Of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences - Austria; DON, AXEL - Thunen Institute Of Climate-Smart Agriculture; DONDINI, MARTA - University Of Aberdeen; DUNN, JENNIFER - Argonne National Laboratory; FELICIANO, DIANA MARISA - University Of Aberdeen; Liebig, Mark; LANG, RONG - Kunming Institute Of Botany; LLORENTE, MIREIA - University Of Extremadura; ZINN, YURI LOPES - Federal University Of Lavras; MCNAMARA, NIALL - Centre For Ecology And Hydrology; OGLE, STEPHEN - Colorado State University; QIN, ZHANGCAI - Argonne National Laboratory; ROVIRA, PERE - University Of Spain; ROWE, REBECCA - Centre For Ecology And Hydrology; VICENTE-VICENTE, JOSE LUIS - Potsdam Institute; WHITAKER, JEANETTE - Lancaster University; YUE, QIAN - Nanjing Agricultural University; ZERIHUN, AYALSEW - Curtin University

Submitted to: Scientific Data
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2019
Publication Date: 5/13/2019
Citation: Ledo, A., Hillier, J., Smith, P., Aguilera, E., Blagodatskiy, S., Brearley, F.Q., Datta, A., Diaz-Pines, E., Don, A., Dondini, M., Dunn, J., Feliciano, D., Liebig, M.A., Lang, R., Llorente, M., Zinn, Y., McNamara, N., Ogle, S., Qin, Z., Rovira, P., Rowe, R., Vicente-Vicente, J., Whitaker, J., Yue, Q., Zerihun, A. 2019. A global, empirical, harmonized dataset of soil organic carbon changes under perennial crops. Scientific Data. 6:57. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0062-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0062-1

Interpretive Summary: Perennial crops comprise 30% of global croplands, and as such, have a significant effect on the quality of agricultural land. Despite their importance to agriculture, the effects of perennial crops on soil properties are not fully understood. This issue is compounded by the fact that there are few data sets documenting ecosystem services under perennial crops. Therefore, we compiled a global database on soil organic carbon (SOC) change resulting from perennial crop cultivation. The database includes information from over 1600 paired-comparison empirical values from 180 different peer-reviewed studies, 709 sites, on 58 different perennial crop types, from 32 countries in temperate, tropical and boreal areas. The database also contains information about climate, soil characteristics, management and topography. As the first such global compilation of SOC data under perennial crops, the database has potential to support multiple modeling and research efforts aimed at informing policy development to enhance the delivery of ecosystem services from agricultural lands.

Technical Abstract: A global, unified dataset on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) under perennial crops has not existed till now. We present a global, harmonised database on SOC change resulting from perennial crop cultivation. It contains information about 1605 paired-comparison empirical values (some of which are aggregated data) from 180 different peer-reviewed studies, 709 sites, on 58 different perennial crop types, from 32 countries in temperate, tropical and boreal areas; including species used for food, bioenergy and bio-products. The database also contains information on climate, soil characteristics, management and topography. This is the first such global compilation and will act as a baseline for SOC changes in perennial crops. It will be key to supporting global modelling of land use and carbon cycle feedbacks, and supporting agricultural policy development.