ABSTRACT
World soils play a major role in the global carbon cycle. The soil organic carbon pool is highly dynamic, concentrated near the soil surface, and comprises material of plant and animal origin at various stages of decay and decomposition. There has been a steady increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases since the beginning of agriculture, but more strongly with the onset of the industrial revolution in the 1850s. This increase is primarily due to human activities including fossil-fuel combustion and land use change such as deforestation.
