In deeply weathered tropical rainforest soils of Africa, we found that patterns of microbial processes differ between soils developed from geochemically contrasting parent materials due to differences in resource availability. Across investigated geochemical regions and soil depths, soil microbes were P-limited rather than N-limited. Topsoil microbes were more C-limited than their subsoil counterparts but inversely P-limited.

Particulate macronutrient concentrations were up to three-fold higher in a natural forest catchment compared to fertilized agricultural catchments. Although the particulate macronutrient concentrations were lower in the smallholder agriculture catchment, because of higher sediment loads from that catchment, the total particulate macronutrient loads were higher. Land management practices should be focused on agricultural land to reduce the loss of soil carbon and nutrients to the stream.

In order to ensure climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration by temperate grasslands, we suggested modifications to soil organic carbon model to be more adapted to grassland-based livestock systems under humid temperate conditions. The modifications do not impair the performance of the model under temperate conditions and so represent a broadening in its capability. It could be a useful tool for policy makers to develop effective strategies to reduce climate change effect.

Achieving global restoration targets requires scaling of context-specific restoration options on the ground. We implemented the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework in Rwanda to assess indicators of soil and land health, including soil organic carbon (SOC), erosion prevalence, infiltration capacity and tree biodiversity. SOC was low across both landscapes, influenced by sand content and vegetation. Maps of soil erosion and SOC at 30-m resolution with high accuracy.

We compared stable isotope signatures of soil profiles in different forest ecosystems within the Congo Basin to assess ecosystem-level differences in N cycling and we examined the local effect of topography on the isotopic signature of soil N. Soil δ¹⁵N profiles indicated that the N cycling in in the montane forest is more closed, whereas the lowland forest and Miombo woodland experienced a more open N cycle. Topography only alters soil δ¹⁵N values in forests with high erosional forces.

The soil infiltration process cannot be mathematically fully described due to the complex natural conditions, and additional calibration parameters are required for soil erosion modeling. We present transfer functions for calibration parameter of Green-Ampt infiltration module of EROSION-2D/3D model, which are significantly improving the model performance. The study is based on statistical analysis of an extensive rainfall-runoff experiment database.

This paper focus on the production of quality-assessed global maps of soil properties, as implemented in the SoilGrids version 2.0 product incorporating state of the art practices and adapting them for global digital soil mapping with legacy data. The quantitative evaluation showed metrics in line with previous studies. The qualitative evaluation showed that coarse scale patterns are well reproduced. The spatial uncertainty at global scale highlighted the need for more soil observations.

(Sub)tropical soils are still understudied – especially on the African continent. We investigated soil properties and climate variables that influence soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations across sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that the key SOC-controlling factors are similar to those for temperate regions – except for soil texture and vegetation cover. However, strength and importance of the controlling factors vary across the environmental gradient we studied.

The central Mongolian forest-steppe underlies a recent decline of forested area. We analysed the site- and soil properties in the Khangai Mountains to identify differences between disturbed forest areas with and without regrowth of trees. More silty soils were found under areas with tree regrowth and more sandy soils under areas without tree regrowth. Due to the continental, semiarid climate, soil properties which increase the amount of available water are decisive for tree regrowth in Mongolia.