Relationship between soil texture and soil organic carbon at small field scale

Abstract

The capacity of a soil to store organic carbon is related to its particle size distribution, or soil texture, mainly because the capacity of clay particles to stabilize organic materials. A study of the relationship of soil organic carbon (SOC) and particle size distribution at field level in two soils of Saskatchewan indicated that making broad assumptions about the relationship between soil texture and SOC in soils within a filed might lead to erroneous conclusions. At field scale dominant dynamic processes affecting the spatial distribution of soil texture, or other factors may create local conditions that override the fundamental texture SOC relationship of soils.