Ruminating on soil carbon: applying current understanding to inform grazing management
Open accessAbstract
Among options for atmospheric CO 2 removal, sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) via improved grazing management is a rare opportunity because it is scalable across millions of globally grazed acres, low cost, and has high technical potential. Decades of scientific research on grazing and SOC has failed to form a cohesive understanding of how grazing management affects SOC stocks and their distribution between particulate (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM)-characterized by different formation and stabilization pathways-across different climatic contexts. As we increasingly look to grazing management for SOC sequestration on grazinglands to bolster our climate change mitigation efforts, we need a clear and collective understanding of grazing management's impact on pathways of SOC change to inform on-the-ground management decisions. We set out to review the effects of grazing management on SOC through a unified plant ecophysiology and soil biogeochemistry conceptual framework, where elements such as productivity, input quality, soil mineral capacity, and climate variables such as aridity co-govern SOC accumulation and distribution into POM and MAOM. To maximize applicability to grazingland managers, we discuss how common management levers that drive overall grazing pattern, including timing, intensity, duration, and frequency can be used to optimize mechanistic pathways of SOC sequestration. We discuss important research needs and measurement challenges, and h…
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Compared to continuous grazing systems, AMP grazing is thought to bolster SOC accrual by adaptively optimizing grazing frequency, timing, duration, and intensity, thereby increasing SOC inputs, reducing losses, and improving the efficiency of below-ground transformations.
“Compared to continuous grazing systems, AMP grazing is thought to bolster SOC accrual by adaptively optimizing grazing frequency, timing, duration, and intensity, thereby increasing SOC inputs, reducing losses, and improving the efficiency of below-ground transformations”
From Impact of 10 years of adaptive multi-paddock grazing on soil carbon and beef's greenhouse gas footprint in the US Upper Midwest (2026) · cites this paper as Stanley et al., 2024
These patterns can improve several ecophysiological elements linked to SOC formation, including greater canopy and ground cover, enhanced plant productivity, improved root allocation and exudation, higher-quality litter inputs, and increased manure distribution and plant functional diversity.
“These patterns can improve several ecophysiological elements linked to SOC formation, including greater canopy and ground cover, enhanced plant productivity, improved root allocation and exudation, higher-quality litter inputs, and increased manure distribution and plant functional diversity.”
From Impact of 10 years of adaptive multi-paddock grazing on soil carbon and beef's greenhouse gas footprint in the US Upper Midwest (2026) · cites this paper as Stanley et al., 2024
The relative dominance of these pathways and the degree to which AMP management activates them will vary with local climate, soil type, plant community, and grazing history.
“Their relative dominance and the degree to which AMP management activates them will vary with local climate, soil type, plant community, and grazing history (Stanley et al., 2024).”
From Impact of 10 years of adaptive multi-paddock grazing on soil carbon and beef's greenhouse gas footprint in the US Upper Midwest (2026) · cites this paper as Stanley et al., 2024
Together, these mechanisms support the three major pathways of SOC accrual: increasing carbon inputs, reducing losses, and promoting below-ground transformations.
“Together, these mechanisms support the three major pathways of SOC accrual: increasing carbon inputs, reducing losses, and promoting below-ground transformations (Stanley et al., 2024).”
From Impact of 10 years of adaptive multi-paddock grazing on soil carbon and beef's greenhouse gas footprint in the US Upper Midwest (2026) · cites this paper as Stanley et al., 2024
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“…support more accurate model development to better represent, generalize, and predict SOC response from grazing at scale, which is necessary to predict the SOC sequestration potential of these systems as a natural climate solution and to inform appropriate incentive structures and climate policies.”
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Stanley, P., Roche, L., & Bowles, T. (2025) · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · doi:10.1080/14735903.2025.2461826 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationGarcia, L., Stanley, P. L., Sacramento, J. P., Dillon, J. A., Thorbecke, M., Thompson, L. R., Ambike, V., Sharma, P., Xu, S., Chiavegato, M. B., et al. (2026) · Agricultural Systems · doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2026.104879 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Stanley, P. L., Wilson, C., Patterson, E., Machmuller, M. B., & Cotrufo, M. F.
- Affiliations
- Colorado State University (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Stanley, Paige L.
- Venue
- Global Change Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-03
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e17223-e17223
- ISSN
- 1354-1013 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2486
- OpenAlex
- W4392593347
- Cited by
- 82
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 41 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 11
- FWCI
- 2.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Global Change Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Pasture and Agricultural Systems
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Keywords
- soil organic carbon sequestration, grazing management, particulate organic matter, mineral-associated organic matter, grazing intensity, grazing frequency, grazing time, aridity, soil biogeochemistry, plant ecophysiology, climate change mitigation
- MeSH terms
- Carbon, Minerals, Soil, Climate Change, Carbon Sequestration
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