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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421429
Research Project: Strategies to Optimize Productivity through Enhancement of Plant Stress Tolerance and Agroecological Farming Systems in the Southeastern US

Location: Plant Science Research

Title: Cattle and carbon: Soil organic carbon on North Carolina farms

Author
item Franzluebbers, Alan

Submitted to: Trade Journal Publication
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2024
Publication Date: 12/2/2024
Citation: Franzluebbers, A.J. 2024. Cattle and carbon: Soil organic carbon on North Carolina farms. Trade Journal Publication. Vol. 38, Issue 12, p. 18-19.

Interpretive Summary: Soil organic carbon can vary by physiographic region, particularly in the Carolinas, which share three prominent regions of the low-lying Coastal Plain, the hilly Piedmont, and the mountainous Blue Ridge. An ARS scientist in Raleigh, North Carolina described soil organic carbon stocks within the surface foot of soil from a state-wide survey across North Carolina. This article is the fourth of an educational series targeting cattle producers as the primary audience in the monthly Carolina Cattle Connection, a trade journal for the cattle industry in the Carolinas. This article described the quantification of soil organic carbon stocks from 206 randomly representative farms across North Carolina. Average values were shown for each of the 70 counties from which samples were collected. Across counties, there was increasing content of soil organic carbon from lowest in the Coastal Plain to highest in the Blue Ridge. Farmers in these different regions could see how soil type and climate conditions impose some restrictions on the amount of carbon that can be stored in soil. The intent of this series of articles is to provide reliable information that can strengthen pasture management practices for the future.

Technical Abstract: Soil organic carbon can vary by physiographic region, particularly in the Carolinas, which share three prominent regions of the low-lying Coastal Plain, the hilly Piedmont, and the mountainous Blue Ridge. An ARS scientist in Raleigh, North Carolina described soil organic carbon stocks within the surface foot of soil from a state-wide survey across North Carolina. This article is the fourth of an educational series targeting cattle producers as the primary audience in the monthly Carolina Cattle Connection, a trade journal for the cattle industry in the Carolinas. This article described the quantification of soil organic carbon stocks from 206 randomly representative farms across North Carolina. Average values were shown for each of the 70 counties from which samples were collected. Across counties, there was increasing content of soil organic carbon from lowest in the Coastal Plain to highest in the Blue Ridge. Farmers in these different regions could see how soil type and climate conditions impose some restrictions on the amount of carbon that can be stored in soil. The intent of this series of articles is to provide reliable information that can strengthen pasture management practices for the future.