The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Ensuring planetary survival: the centrality of organic carbon in balancing the multifunctional nature of soils
Open accessAbstract
Not only do soils provide 98.7% of the calories consumed by humans, they also provide numerous other functions upon which planetary survivability closely depends. However, our continuously increasing focus on soils for biomass provision (food, fiber, and energy) through intensive agriculture is rapidly degrading soils and diminishing their capacity to deliver other vital functions. These tradeoffs in soil functionality – the increased provision of one function at the expense of other critical planetary functions – are the focus of this review. We examine how land-use change for biomass provision has decreased the ability of soils to regulate the carbon pool and thereby contribute profoundly to climate change, to cycle the nutrients that sustain plant growth and ecosystem health, to protect the soil biodiversity upon which many other functions depend, and to cycle the Earth’s freshwater supplies. We also examine how this decreasing ability of soil to provide these other functions can be halted and reversed. Despite the complexity and the interconnectedness of soil functions, we show that soil organic carbon plays a central role and is a master indicator for soil functioning and that we require a better understanding of the factors controlling the behavior and persistence of C in soils. Given the threats facing humanity and their economies, it is imperative that we recognize that Soil Security is itself an existential challenge and that we need to increase our focus on the multiple functions of soils for long-term human welfare and survivability of the planet.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, SOM is central to the numerous functions delivered by soils (Kopittke et al., 2022).”
From Carbon for soils, not soils for carbon (2023) · cites this paper as Kopittke et al., 2022
The check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“It is increasingly recognised that greater scientific knowledge and concurrent management of these soil functions will be critical (Kopittke et al., 2022; Schulte et al., 2014).”
From Carbon for soils, not soils for carbon (2023) · cites this paper as Kopittke et al., 2022
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet
Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S. R., de Vries, W., de Wit, C. A., et al. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1259855 · Cited by 12,527
The contentious nature of soil organic matter
Lehmann, J. C., & Kleber, M. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature16069 · Cited by 4,849
Global hydrological cycles and world water resources
Oki, T., & Kanae, S. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1128845 · Cited by 4,392
Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity
Newbold, T., Hudson, L. N., Hill, S. L. L., Contu, S., Lysenko, I., Senior, R. A., Börger, L., Bennett, D. J., Choimes, A., Collen, B., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14324 · Cited by 4,352
Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis
Guo, L. B., & Gifford, R. M. (2002) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1354-1013.2002.00486.x · Cited by 3,972
Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback
Schuur, E. A. G., McGuire, A. D., Schädel, C., Grosse, G., Harden, J. W., Hayes, D. J., Hugelius, G., Koven, C. D., Kuhry, P., Lawrence, D. M., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14338 · Cited by 3,774
Soil quality – A critical review
Bünemann, E. K., Bongiorno, G., Bai, Z., Creamer, R. E., De Deyn, G., de Goede, R., Fleskens, L., Geissen, V., Kuyper, T. W., Mäder, P., et al. (2018) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.01.030 · Cited by 2,960
Wiesmeier, M., Urbanski, L., Hobley, E., Lang, B. R., Lützow, M. V., Marín-Spiotta, E., van Wesemael, B., Rabot, É., Ließ, M., García-Franco, N., et al. (2018) · Geoderma · doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.07.026 · Cited by 2,060
Self-citationThe concept and future prospects of soil health
Lehmann, J. C., Bossio, D., Kögel‐Knabner, I., & Rillig, M. C. (2020) · Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0080-8 · Cited by 1,903
Self-citationSoil and the intensification of agriculture for global food security
Kopittke, P. M., Menzies, N. W., Wang, P., McKenna, B. A., & Lombi, E. (2019) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105078 · Cited by 1,649
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Canadell J. G., 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- Mbila M., 2013, Soils and human health, 199
- Murphy D. V., 2021, Soil quality: 5 Soil biology
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–215 of 215
Delmotte, S., Versini, A., Brauman, A., Decaëns, T., Vermeire, M.-L., Gamelin, V., Huat, J., & Brunel, C. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7000651
Cartographic Estimation of the Structure of Organic Carbon Stocks in Soils of Russia
Chernova, O. V., Авраамова, О. Д., Golozubov, O. M., & Shoba, S. A. (2026) · Eurasian Soil Science · doi:10.1134/s1064229326601320
Is soil carbon sequestration overestimated in carbon footprint accounting?
Giuliani, L. M., Vetter, S. H., & Smith, P. (2026) · Carbon Footprints · doi:10.20517/cf.2026.54
Evangelista, S. J., Field, D. J., & McBratney, A. B. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822974-3.00289-5
Self-citationSoil microbiomes in carbon farming: Pathways to enhance soil carbon sequestration
Nath, D., Kumari, V., & Meena, R. S. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-33557-0.00019-7
Dong, E., Yue, Y., Zhang, Y., 李慧俊, Fan, R., Zhang, T., Wang, Y., Liu, Q., Wang, J., Huang, X., et al. (2026) · Soil and Tillage Research · doi:10.1016/j.still.2026.107453
Zhang, Z., Zhao, J., Li, J., Jin, J., Li, Z., Li, X., Zhu, C., Stephenson, S. L., Li, Y., & Liu, P. (2026) · Microbiological Research · doi:10.1016/j.micres.2026.128720
Larrea-Cedeño, A. S., García, C. E. G., Tuesta-Popolizio, D. A., Díaz-Torres, O., & Montoya, D. A. B. (2026) · Frontiers in Soil Science · doi:10.3389/fsoil.2026.1911074
Delgado-Moreira, M. I., Moreira, J. M. S., Marapao, G., & Reyna-Bowen, L. (2026) · Land · doi:10.3390/land15091742
Microbial Functional Genes Help Explain Soil Carbon Sensitivity to Temperature Across Global Biomes
Sáez‐Sandino, T., Singh, B. K., Xiong, C., Wang, J., Chengjie, R., & Delgado‐Baquerizo, M. (2026) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.71101
The role of NGOs and civil society in soil protection: A review
Golkar, F. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-45286-4.00014-6
Contrasting vertical patterns of lignin phenols in karst and non-karst forest soils
Yang, J., Peng, J., Zhao, Y., Hu, P., & Ding, Y. (2026) · Frontiers in Plant Science · doi:10.3389/fpls.2026.1963199
Fajana, S., & Ngatia, L. W. (2026) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1016593
Anbunithi, M., Parameswari, E., Sebastian, S. P., Janaki, P., Sangeetha, S. P., Ilakiya, T., Davamani, V., Kalaiselvi, P., Yazhini, G., & Oumabady, S. (2026) · Soil Systems · doi:10.3390/soilsystems10100117
Babalola, S., Ogore, M. M., & Nsabiyumva, S. (2026) · Lecture notes in networks and systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-36036-6_17
Metadata
- Authors
- Kopittke, P. M., Berhe, A. A., Carrillo, Y., Cavagnaro, T. R., Chen, D., Chen, Q.-L., Román Dobarco, M., Dijkstra, F. A., Field, D. J., Grundy, M. J., He, J.-Z., Hoyle, F. C., Kögel-Knabner, I., Lam, S. K., Marschner, P., Martinez, C., McBratney, A. B., McDonald-Madden, E., Menzies, N. W., Mosley, L. M., Mueller, C. W., Murphy, D. V., Nielsen, U. N., O’Donnell, A. G., Pendall, E., Pett-Ridge, J., Rumpel, C., Young, I. M., & Minasny, B.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of California, Merced (US)
- Western Sydney University (AU)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Faculty of Science, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Murdoch University (AU)
- School of Life Sciences and Institute of Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
- School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Physical and Life Science Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA
- INRAE, CNRS, Institute for Ecology and Ecological Sciences, (iEES Paris, UMR Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAE, UPEC, IRD), Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- Corresponding author
- Minasny, Budiman
- ORCID
- Kopittke, Peter M.
- Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw
- Carrillo, Yolima
- Cavagnaro, Timothy R.
- Chen, Deli
- Chen, Qing-Lin
- Dijkstra, Feike A.
- Field, Damien J.
- He, Ji-Zheng
- Hoyle, Frances C.
- Lam, Shu Kee
- Marschner, Petra
- Martinez, Cristina
- McBratney, Alex B.
- Menzies, Neal W.
- Mosley, Luke M.
- Mueller, Carsten W.
- Murphy, Daniel V.
- Nielsen, Uffe N.
- O’Donnell, Anthony G.
- Pendall, Elise
- Young, Iain M.
- Minasny, Budiman
- Venue
- Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-01-10
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 4308-4324
- ISSN
- 1064-3389 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-6537
- OpenAlex
- W4206465534
- Cited by
- 215
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 24
- FWCI
- 23.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Murdoch University Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Keywords
- soil organic carbon, soil functions, soil security, land use change, intensive agriculture, soil carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, soil biodiversity, climate change mitigation, soil degradation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
