Topography and soil organic carbon

Read the recent publication in CATENA.
October 17, 2022
A photo of a sign that says State Wildlife Management Area with a prairie landscape in the background
Photo of a Wildlife Management Area by the Minnesota DNR; this research was conducted on cropland and WMA grassland.

The topography of a landscape can drastically affect the amount of organic carbon stored in the soil. SWAC professor emeritus Ed Nater and his colleagues were able to incorporate digital measurements of terrain into models of soil organic carbon, which has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of soil organic carbon, including where it is likely located and how it changes over time due to erosion and deposition. Read the recent publication in CATENA.