Black soils provide many important ecosystem services to human societies. Their high organic matter content and high fertility make black soils among the most productive soils in the world, serving as the world’s food basket. As a result, about 1/3 world’s black soils has been cultivated, in some regions for hundreds of years. Their high soil carbon content makes them an important natural carbon stock, potentially contributing to climate change mitigation. Broadly speaking, black soils (Mollisols)—including Phaeozems, Chernozems and Kastanozems—distribute mostly in the temperate regions of Eurasia (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, and China), North America (USA and Canada) and South America (Argentina). We invite presentations focusing on all aspects of black soils research, including but not limited to, soil genesis, development history and critical soil forming factors; carbon and greenhouse-gas dynamics; degradation, protection and restoration; soil health monitoring and assessment; and sustainable use, conservation and management, from all relevant disciplines (including soil physics, chemistry and biology, and social sciences) and any methodologies (observational, experimental and modeling/theoretical). We hope that presentations and discussions in this session will provide opportunity for us to understand and synthesize the similarities and differences of black soils in different regions of the world in terms of their formation, development, restoration practices, and conservation approaches.