Scale and uncertainty in modeled soil organic carbon stock changes for US croplands using a process‐based model
Open accessAbstract
Process‐based model analyses are often used to estimate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), particularly at regional to continental scales. However, uncertainties are rarely evaluated, and so it is difficult to determine how much confidence can be placed in the results. Our objective was to quantify uncertainties across multiple scales in a process‐based model analysis, and provide 95% confidence intervals for the estimates. Specifically, we used the Century ecosystem model to estimate changes in SOC stocks for US croplands during the 1990s, addressing uncertainties in model inputs, structure and scaling of results from point locations to regions and the entire country. Overall, SOC stocks increased in US croplands by 14.6 Tg C yr−1 from 1990 to 1995 and 17.5 Tg C yr−1 during 1995 to 2000, and uncertainties were ±22% and ±16% for the two time periods, respectively. Uncertainties were inversely related to spatial scale, with median uncertainties at the regional scale estimated at ±118% and ±114% during the early and latter part of 1990s, and even higher at the site scale with estimates at ±739% and ±674% for the time periods, respectively. This relationship appeared to be driven by the amount of the SOC stock change; changes in stocks that exceeded 200 Gg C yr−1 represented a threshold where uncertainties were always lower than ±100%. Consequently, the amount of uncertainty in estimates derived from process‐based models will partly depend on the level of SOC accumulation or loss. In general, the majority of uncertainty was associated with model structure in this application, and so attaining higher levels of precision in the estimates will largely depend on improving the model algorithms and parameterization, as well as increasing the number of measurement sites used to evaluate the structural uncertainty.
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Even with limitations in process-based understanding, process-based models are likely to provide the most robust framework for estimating soil C stock and GHG flux changes in climate smart agriculture programs.
“Even with the limitations in process-based understanding, process-based models are likely to provide the most robust framework for estimating soil C stock and GHG flux changes in climate smart agriculture programs 77”
From Climate-smart soils (2016) · cites this paper as [77]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- OGLE, S. M., BREIDT, F. J., EASTER, M., WILLIAMS, S., KILLIAN, K., & PAUSTIAN, K.
- Affiliations
- Colorado State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- OGLE, STEPHEN M.
- Venue
- Global Change Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-01-04
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 810-822
- ISSN
- 1354-1013 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2486
- OpenAlex
- W2012503797
- Cited by
- 245
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 20.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Global Change Biology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNG05GL07G)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2001-38700-11092)
- Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Soil Geostatistics and Mapping
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Keywords
- soil organic carbon, cropland, CENTURY model, uncertainty quantification, spatial scale, structural uncertainty, model input data, carbon accumulation
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