The centennial legacy of land-use change on organic carbon stocks of German agricultural soils.

Converting natural vegetation for agriculture has resulted in the loss of approximately 5% of the current global terrestrial soil organic carbon (SOC) stock to the atmosphere. Increasing the agricultural area under grassland may reverse some of these losses, but the effectiveness of such a strategy is limited by how quickly SOC recovers after conversion from cropland. Using soil data and extensive land-use histories gathered during the national German agricultural soil inventory, this study aims to answer three questions regarding agricultural land-use change (LUC): (i) how do SOC stocks change with depth following LUC; (ii) how long does it take to reach SOC equilibrium after LUC; and (iii) what is the legacy effect of historic LUC on present day SOC dynamics? By using a novel approach that substitutes space for time and accounts for differences in site properties using propensity score balancing, we determined that sites that were converted from cropland to grassland reached a SOC equilibrium level 47.

Carbon sequestration in soils and climate change mitigation-Definitions and pitfalls.

The term carbon (C) sequestration has not just become a buzzword but is something of a siren's call to scientific communicators and media outlets. Carbon sequestration is the removal of C from the atmosphere and the storage, for example, in soil. It has the potential to partially compensate for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and is, therefore, an important piece in the global climate change mitigation puzzle.

Soil organic carbon in irrigated agricultural systems: A meta-analysis.

Over the last 200 years, conversion of non-cultivated land for agriculture has substantially reduced global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in upper soil layers. Nevertheless, practices such as no- or reduced tillage, application of organic soil amendments, and maintenance of continuous cover can increase SOC in agricultural fields. While these management practices have been well studied, the effects on SOC of cropping systems that incorporate irrigation are poorly understood.

A comparison of outcome measures for use with back pain patients: results of a feasibility study.

Objective: To compare the reliability, validity and change in patient clinical status over time with treatment for six potential outcome questionnaires in a defined population of patients.

Setting: Physician based, multidoctor teaching practice.

Patients: Three hundred thirty-five consecutive patients presenting with new complaints were solicited.