Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated research gap and future-work section and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2024 and 2026, spanning 6 journals. Those papers have been cited 98 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 8 representative gaps

• Soil’s Hidden Power: The Stable Soil Organic Carbon Pool Controls the Burden of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Background Soils (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · cited 49× · doi

  The gap in understanding the role of soil organic carbon in controlling the accumulation and distribution of POPs in background soils. The lack of consideration of the complex dynamic balance between the soil and atmosphere in estimating the global burden of POPs. The need to fully consider soil carbon pool composition in multimedia environmental models of POPs.

  generalstated research gap
  Keywords: gap understanding role soil organic carbon controlling accumulation
• Soil’s Hidden Power: The Stable Soil Organic Carbon Pool Controls the Burden of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Background Soils (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · cited 49× · doi

  Soil carbon pool composition should be fully considered in a multimedia environmental model of POPs. The risk of secondary release of POPs in soils under conditions such as climate change can be further assessed with soil organic carbon models.

  generalfuture-work section
  Keywords: soil carbon pool composition fully considered multimedia environmental
• Revealing spatial patterns and depth-dependent controls of soil organic carbon density across China using interpretable machine learning (2026) · Environmental Earth Sciences · doi

  Abstract Soil organic carbon density (SOCD) is a key indicator of soil health and a critical component of terrestrial carbon storage, yet its large-scale spatial organization and environmental controls remain insufficiently understood.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: soil carbon abstract organic density socd indicator health critical component terrestrial storage large scale spatial
• Revealing spatial patterns and depth-dependent controls of soil organic carbon density across China using interpretable machine learning (2026) · Environmental Earth Sciences · doi

  The large-scale spatial organization and environmental controls of soil organic carbon density remain insufficiently understood. The environmental interpretation of model outputs remains challenging. There is a need for regionally differentiated soil carbon management and monitoring under ongoing climatic change.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: large-scale spatial organization environmental controls soil organic carbon
• GSOCS-LULCC: A Global dataset of Soil Organic Carbon Stock dynamics following Land Use and Land Cover Change (2026) · Scientific Data · doi

  The lack of a comprehensive database of soil organic carbon stock dynamics following land use and land cover change. The limited understanding of the underlying factors that govern soil organic carbon stock changes. The need for a predictive model that can quantify the impact of land use transitions on soil organic carbon stocks.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: lack comprehensive database soil organic carbon stock dynamics
• Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon in contrasting management of grasslands in typical steppes of the Mongolian plateau (2026) · Frontiers in Environmental Science · doi

  Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil quality and carbon storage in grassland ecosystems, yet its spatial variation under contrasting grazing regimes remains insufficiently understood.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: soil carbon organic indicator quality storage grassland ecosystems spatial variation contrasting grazing regimes remains insufficiently
• Contrasting land use systems regulate active and passive soil carbon pools and the carbon management index across soil depths (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi

  There is a lack of understanding of how soil carbon pools respond to contrasting land use systems. The distribution of soil organic carbon fractions and their response to land use change is not well understood. There is a need for a comparative framework for detecting relative changes in soil carbon status across different land use systems.

  generalstated research gapevidence 4/5
  Keywords: there lack understanding soil carbon pools respond contrasting
• Deep soil inorganic carbon, an overlooked carbon sink in alkaline croplands (2026) · Environmental Chemistry Letters · doi

  The dynamics of deep soil carbon are poorly understood, particularly in alkaline soils. Deep soil inorganic carbon is often overlooked in carbon accounting frameworks, leading to systematic underestimation of agricultural carbon sequestration.

  generalstated research gapevidence 3/5
  Keywords: dynamics deep soil carbon poorly understood particularly alkaline

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