Fifteen-year stability of soil organic carbon in Pampas agroecosystems: evidence from georeferenced paired-site resampling using equivalent soil mass.

Authors

Gonzalo Berhongaray, Roberto Alvarez

Published in

Environmental monitoring and assessment. Volume 198. Issue 9. Aug 11, 2026. Epub Aug 11, 2026.

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the Pampas Region of Argentina declined substantially during the second half of the twentieth century, primarily due to land-use change and low-residue agricultural systems. Recent process-based simulations have suggested that the widespread adoption of no-till practices, increased crop productivity, and more diversified rotations may have halted these losses and shifted regional systems toward a new equilibrium. However, empirical validation at regional scale remains limited. We conducted a georeferenced paired-site resampling of 40 agricultural sites originally surveyed in late 2007 and resampled in early 2023. Sampling protocols, laboratory procedures, and analytical methods were strictly replicated between campaigns, and field sampling was conducted by the same operator to minimize methodological variability. Soil organic carbon stocks were evaluated using the equivalent soil mass approach, standardizing comparisons to 4000 Mg soil ha^-1. Over the approximately 15-year interval, SOC stocks did not differ significantly from baseline values. Sites originally sampled under different rotational phases (crop vs. pasture phase in 2007) showed no consistent divergence in SOC trajectories. Given the long-standing prevalence of mixed crop-pasture rotations in the Pampas, results reflect the cumulative balance of rotational management rather than continuous land-use effects. Our findings suggest that the historical phase of net SOC depletion has likely slowed or stabilized at regional scale in the Pampas. Continued long-term monitoring will be necessary to determine whether the observed plateau represents transient variability or the onset of sustained carbon gains in Pampas agroecosystems.

PMID:
42579173
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Aug 2026.

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