Tropical biogeochemistry of soils in the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes region
Tropical biogeochemistry of soils in the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes region
Editor(s): Marijn Bauters, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Sebastian Doetterl, Peter Finke, Stefan Hauser, and Pauline Chivenge
Tropical forests are hotspots of modern-day land-use change and are, at the same time, among the largest terrestrial carbon reservoirs. In particular, the African continent will be facing huge environmental and societal challenges, with a projected population growth of 400 % by the end of this century. Despite their importance, tropical soils and ecosystems, particularly in Africa, are among the least studied in the world. Our lack of knowledge on the consequences of land-use change in the region on plant–soil interactions also limits our ability to predict future trajectories of tropical ecosystem services to mitigate climate change. Established observatories in the Congo Basin focus on questions related to biodiversity preservation and C storage in the biosphere, largely ignoring soils. In this SOIL Special Issue, we highlight the research that is done in tropical Africa on plant–soil interactions, biogeochemistry, and soil ecology.

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25 Nov 2021
Assessing soil and land health across two landscapes in eastern Rwanda to inform restoration activities
Leigh Ann Winowiecki, Aida Bargués-Tobella, Athanase Mukuralinda, Providence Mujawamariya, Elisée Bahati Ntawuhiganayo, Alex Billy Mugayi, Susan Chomba, and Tor-Gunnar Vågen
SOIL, 7, 767–783, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-767-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-767-2021, 2021
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27 Oct 2021
Estimation of soil properties with mid-infrared soil spectroscopy across yam production landscapes in West Africa
Philipp Baumann, Juhwan Lee, Emmanuel Frossard, Laurie Paule Schönholzer, Lucien Diby, Valérie Kouamé Hgaza, Delwende Innocent Kiba, Andrew Sila, Keith Sheperd, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 717–731, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-717-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-717-2021, 2021
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26 Oct 2021
The central African soil spectral library: a new soil infrared repository and a geographical prediction analysis
Laura Summerauer, Philipp Baumann, Leonardo Ramirez-Lopez, Matti Barthel, Marijn Bauters, Benjamin Bukombe, Mario Reichenbach, Pascal Boeckx, Elizabeth Kearsley, Kristof Van Oost, Bernard Vanlauwe, Dieudonné Chiragaga, Aimé Bisimwa Heri-Kazi, Pieter Moonen, Andrew Sila, Keith Shepherd, Basile Bazirake Mujinya, Eric Van Ranst, Geert Baert, Sebastian Doetterl, and Johan Six
SOIL, 7, 693–715, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-693-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-693-2021, 2021
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01 Oct 2021
Heterotrophic soil respiration and carbon cycling in geochemically distinct African tropical forest soils
Benjamin Bukombe, Peter Fiener, Alison M. Hoyt, Laurent K. Kidinda, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 639–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-639-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-639-2021, 2021
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02 Aug 2021
The role of geochemistry in organic carbon stabilization against microbial decomposition in tropical rainforest soils
Mario Reichenbach, Peter Fiener, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Johan Six, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 453–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021, 2021
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21 Jul 2021
Nutrient limitations regulate soil greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical forests: evidence from an ecosystem-scale nutrient manipulation experiment in Uganda
Joseph Tamale, Roman Hüppi, Marco Griepentrog, Laban Frank Turyagyenda, Matti Barthel, Sebastian Doetterl, Peter Fiener, and Oliver van Straaten
SOIL, 7, 433–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, 2021
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08 Jul 2021
Assessing soil redistribution of forest and cropland sites in wet tropical Africa using 239+240Pu fallout radionuclides
Florian Wilken, Peter Fiener, Michael Ketterer, Katrin Meusburger, Daniel Iragi Muhindo, Kristof van Oost, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 399–414, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-399-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-399-2021, 2021
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06 Jul 2021
Aluminous clay and pedogenic Fe oxides modulate aggregation and related carbon contents in soils of the humid tropics
Maximilian Kirsten, Robert Mikutta, Didas N. Kimaro, Karl-Heinz Feger, and Karsten Kalbitz
SOIL, 7, 363–375, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-363-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-363-2021, 2021
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29 Jun 2021
| Highlight paper
Continental-scale controls on soil organic carbon across sub-Saharan Africa
Sophie F. von Fromm, Alison M. Hoyt, Markus Lange, Gifty E. Acquah, Ermias Aynekulu, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Stephan M. Haefele, Steve P. McGrath, Keith D. Shepherd, Andrew M. Sila, Johan Six, Erick K. Towett, Susan E. Trumbore, Tor-G. Vågen, Elvis Weullow, Leigh A. Winowiecki, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 305–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, 2021
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30 Mar 2021
Stable isotope signatures of soil nitrogen on an environmental–geomorphic gradient within the Congo Basin
Simon Baumgartner, Marijn Bauters, Matti Barthel, Travis W. Drake, Landry C. Ntaboba, Basile M. Bazirake, Johan Six, Pascal Boeckx, and Kristof Van Oost
SOIL, 7, 83–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021, 2021
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15 Mar 2021
Particulate macronutrient exports from tropical African montane catchments point to the impoverishment of agricultural soils
Jaqueline Stenfert Kroese, John N. Quinton, Suzanne R. Jacobs, Lutz Breuer, and Mariana C. Rufino
SOIL, 7, 53–70, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-53-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-53-2021, 2021
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