title: Three approaches to define desired soil organic matter contents.
abstract: Soil organic C is often suggested as an indicator of soil quality, but desirable targets are rarely specified. We tested three approaches to define maximum and lowest desirable soil C contents for four New Zealand soil orders. Approach 1 used the New Zealand National Soils Database (NSD). The maximum C content was defined as the median value of long-term pastures, and the lower quartile defined the lowest desirable soil C content. Approach 2 used the CENTURY model to predict maximum C contents of long-term pasture. Lowest desirable content was defined by the level that still allowed recovery to 80% of the maximum C content over 25 yr. Approach 3 used an expert panel to define desirable C contents based on production and environmental criteria. Median C contents (0-20 cm) for the Recent, Granular, Melanic, and Allophanic orders were 72, 88, 98, 132 Mg ha(-1), and similar to contents predicted by the CENTURY model (78, 93, 102, and 134 Mg ha(-1), respectively). Lower quartile values (54, 78, 73, and 103 Mg ha(-1), respectively) were similar to the lowest desirable C contents calculated by CENTURY (55, 54, 67, and 104 Mg ha(-1), respectively). Expert opinion was that C contents could be depleted below these values with tolerable effects on production but less so for the environment. The CENTURY model is our preferred approach for setting soil organic C targets, but the model needs calibrating for other soils and land uses. The statistical and expert opinion approaches are less defensible in setting lower limits for desirable C contents.
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton, New Zealand. SparlingG@Landcare Research.co.nz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sparling
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Parfitt
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hewitt
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Schipper
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002244:Carbon