Storage and turnover

These physical-chemical-biological interfacial interactions govern weathering transformations of minerals, storage and turnover of organic... 

Figure 2.4. Soil inventory carbon in soil organic matter (SOM) (a), A14C of SOM (b), noncrystalline minerals (c), and crystalline minerals (d) versus age of soil substrate. Filled circles, total profile filled triangles, surface (O and A) horizons. Reprinted from Torn, M. S.,Trumbore, S. E., Chadwick, O. A., et al. (1997). Mineral control of soil organic carbon storage and turnover. Nature 289,170-173, with permission from Macmillan.

Historically, attention on soil organic matter (SOM) has focused on the central role that it plays in ecosystem fertility and soil properties, but in the past two decades the role of soil organic carbon in moderating atmospheric C02 concentrations has emerged as a critical research area.This chapter will focus on the storage and turnover of natural organic matter in soil (SOM), in the context of the global carbon cycle. 

Tom, M.S. et al., Mineral control of soil organic carbon storage and turnover, Nature, 389, 170, 1997. 

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