Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a vital role not only in soil fertility and quality by providing a number of physical, chemical, and biological benefits, but also in the global C cycle. The decline of SOM represents a serious threat that many arable lands of the world are facing. Soil organic matter contents can be built up through management actions intended to increase organic inputs into the soil (e.g., organic amendments) and decrease organic matter decomposition, erosion, and leaching (e.g., conservation tillage) (Lal, 2009).

This session will provide a forum for discussion of recent studies on the accrual, transformation, preservation, and loss of soil organic matter, with emphasis on the effects of management practices and the chemical aspects related, for example, to the selective preservation and formation of recalcitrant organic compounds (e.g., black C), occlusion by macro and microaggregation, and chemical interaction with soil mineral particles and metal ions.


(This session has been sponsored by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 654132.)