Carbon pools and microbial indicators in vineyard soils under organic and conventional fertilization in the São Francisco Valley, in a semi-arid tropical climate.

Soil management systems that do not prioritize conservation contribute to carbon (C) depletion in tropical environments. In the semi-arid region of Brazil, fruit farming has been a key driver for economic development, yet high agricultural yields depend on the use of costly inputs. We conducted a groundbreaking study in São Francisco Valley, northeastern Brazil, to investigate the effects of organic (OF) and synthetic fertilizers (CF) on carbon stock and stability, organic matter fractions, microorganismal carbon biomass (C-mic) and quality indexes, and C-CO emissions up to the 1 m of depth in grapevine soils.