Geoderma Regional最新文献

{"title":"Pedogenic and sedimentary controls on secondary carbonate accumulation in semi-arid fluvial landscape, Central Botswana","authors":"Ferdinand J. Dina Ebouel,&nbsp;Thierry Bineli Betsi,&nbsp;Elisabeth Eiche,&nbsp;Stefan Norra,&nbsp;Peter N. Eze","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The formation and accumulation of secondary carbonates represent an important pathway for long-term carbon sequestration in global dryland regions. However, accurately assessing their contribution to the regional carbon budget requires distinguishing between pedogenic (in-situ soil formation) and sedimentary processes, which often occur concurrently in dynamic environments. This study investigated the formation and accumulation of carbonate features within four pedosedimentary sections located along ephemeral stream banks in semi-arid central Botswana. The method used involved combining morphological and physicochemical characterisation with geochemical indices in the observed horizons/layers. Geochemical indices include the robust chemical weathering index (RW), the calcification index ((Mg + Ca)/Al), the clayeyness index (Al/Si) and Mg/Ca ratios. Analysis of the sections reveals a cyclical palaeoenvironmental history marked by palaeosols whose development was repeatedly interrupted by successive episodes of fluvial sedimentary deposition, followed by the resumption of modern pedogenesis. Particle size analysis of the deposit layers confirms a pulsed fluvial regime, with sediments ranging from poorly sorted fine sand upstream to extremely poorly sorted coarse silt downstream, indicating hydraulic sorting according controlled by flood energy. Geochemically, the low RW values, ranging overall between 30% and 60%, and the clay index generally below 0.3 indicate a limited degree of chemical weathering and low clay neoformation, reflecting the predominance influence of the arid environment. Calcification was identified as the dominant pedogenic process in all sections (both ancient and modern), characterised by a high CaCO₃ content (14 to 22%), confirmed by the calcification index in the calcic horizons. The low Mg/Ca ratio strongly suggests the predominance of calcite as the main secondary carbonate phase also confirmed by XRD evidence. These findings highlight that the total carbonate accumulation in the study area is a direct result of the complex interplay between repetitive fluvial deposition (pedosedimentary history) and subsequent in-situ pedogenic calcification. The results underscore the critical importance of secondary carbonate accumulation in the soils of Botswana and highlight a complex paleoenvironmental evolution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article e01131"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization and classification of acidic soils in the Akuma Watershed, Tocha District, Dawuro Zone, southwestern Ethiopia","authors":"Mengistu Gama,&nbsp;Dereje Selfeko,&nbsp;Fanuel Aemero","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01122","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01122","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Topographic variation strongly influences soil development, fertility, and sustainable land management in the Ethiopian highlands. This study characterized the morphological, physical, and chemical properties of soils along an upper-middle-lower slope toposequence in the Akuma Watershed, southwestern Ethiopia. The results demonstrated clear topographic effects on soil development and fertility. Upper slope soils were clayey, well-drained, and strongly acidic (pH 4.76-4.83), with higher exchangeable acidity and lower concentrations of exchangeable base cations. Middle slope soils exhibited intermediate physical and chemical characteristics, reflecting transitional pedogenic conditions. Lower slope soils showed greater accumulation of organic carbon, exchangeable Ca and Mg, and relatively higher pH values (5.20-5.60), indicating the depositional enrichment of nutrients and finer materials. Bulk density generally increased and total porosity decreased with depth across all profiles. According to WRB, the soils were classified as Dystric Acrisol on the upper slope, Dystric Nitisol on the middle slope, and Dystric Fluvisol on the lower slope, reflecting contrasting pedogenic processes associated with landscape position. The observed acidity gradient from upper to lower slopes confirms that topography governs nutrient redistribution, soil development, and fertility status within the watershed. These findings provide baseline information for site-specific soil management and indicate that liming and erosion control should be prioritized on upper slopes, integrated nutrient management on middle slopes, and conservation of organic matter and balanced fertilization on lower slopes to improve agricultural productivity and sustain soil resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article e01122"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148951068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil moisture information in Southeast Australia – A review of long-term field measurements toward enhanced monitoring and predictive applications","authors":"I.P. Senanayake,&nbsp;I.-Y. Yeo,&nbsp;M. Khaki,&nbsp;G.R. Hancock,&nbsp;P.G. Dahlhaus,&nbsp;N.J. Robinson,&nbsp;S.-C. Han,&nbsp;J.P. Walker","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01132","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01132","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Southeastern Australia encompasses temperate to semi-arid climatic zones and supports agricultural and pastoral systems. Periodic droughts have imposed substantial financial, social, and psychological burdens on farming communities, highlighting the need for improved drought and agricultural risk management. These impacts underscore the importance of soil moisture, a key variable for monitoring, hydrologic and climate modelling, and seasonal forecasting. However, obtaining soil moisture observations across depths with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution remains challenging. Current information sources, including in-situ monitoring networks, satellite remote sensing products, and land surface model outputs, provide unique advantages but are constrained by uncertainties and limitations. In-situ networks provide valuable depth-specific measurements at targeted sites, supporting agricultural decision-making and calibration and validation of remote sensing and model-based products. Despite their importance, a systematic synthesis and assessment of soil moisture monitoring networks in southeastern Australia is lacking. This knowledge gap limits researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand network characteristics, data availability, and opportunities for improved data integration. This review addresses this gap by documenting and summarising key in-situ soil moisture monitoring networks relevant to southeastern Australia and highlighting their complementary value for data applications. The review identifies key challenges, including differences in measurement protocols, calibration approaches, spatial representativeness, data accessibility, and long-term operational sustainability. It also discusses future priorities for improved network design, standardisation, and integration with satellite and modelling products. Overall, this paper highlights the potential of coordinated monitoring and data integration to maximise in-situ soil moisture observations, supporting agricultural, hydrological, and climate-resilience applications in southeastern Australia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article e01132"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A soil satellite spectral service (Sat4): A strategy for stakeholders","authors":"Matheus Carraco Cardoso ,&nbsp;José Alexandre Melo Demattê ,&nbsp;Bruno dos Anjos Bartsch ,&nbsp;Nikolaos Tziolas ,&nbsp;Anastasia Kritharoula ,&nbsp;Giannis Gallios ,&nbsp;Jorge Tadeu Fim Rosas ,&nbsp;Nícolas Augusto Rosin ,&nbsp;Jean de Jesus Macedo Novais ,&nbsp;Gabriel Pimenta Barbosa de Sousa ,&nbsp;Renan Falcioni ,&nbsp;Letícia Guadagnin Vogel","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil spectral libraries (SSLs) are commonly built with expensive proximal sensors, while satellite spectral data are free and widely available. This study investigates how service providers can construct a satellite-based SSL to deliver soil information to stakeholders. We propose the Soil Satellite Spectral Service (Sat4-Service) strategy to estimate clay content and soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural bare topsoil (the first 10 cm) from farm to national scale in Brazil. Bare-soil reflectance from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 was compared with laboratory spectra from 7711 topsoil samples, showing strong correspondence between lab spectra resampled to the satellite bandpasses and the SySI composites, with a mean Pearson correlation across all multispectral bands and both sensors of r ≈ 0.72. We then simulated a provider progressively building a satellite-derived SSL as new clients and soil data were added. With each farm, the dataset expanded and predictive models were retrained. Model accuracy varied initially but stabilized after ∼50 clients, reaching R² = 0.63 for SOC and 0.79 for clay using both satellites. In contrast, a national model based on &gt;60,000 samples performed worse on the same farms (R² = 0.43 for SOC, 0.65 for clay). Findings show that multispectral imagery can reliably estimate soil clay and carbon, and that models built on regional or farm-level data often outperform broad continental-scale libraries. While global models provide useful first approximations—especially for newcomers or data-scarce areas—regionally focused spectral libraries ensure higher accuracy. The Sat4-Service framework highlights the potential of satellite data to deliver cost-effective, scalable soil information, with applications in precision agriculture, carbon crediting, and digital soil mapping.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"45 ","pages":"Article e01100"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148241062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of afforestation on soil inorganic carbon in arid and semiarid regions of northern China","authors":"Zhenyu Zhao ,&nbsp;Yang Gao ,&nbsp;Yuan Huang ,&nbsp;Jiabin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) is the main form of soil carbon in drylands and is susceptible to land use changes. However, a comprehensive study on the SIC dynamic after afforestation is still lacking. In this study, we collected 883 data from 57 published papers to investigate the effects of afforestation on SIC, and then used a random forest model to spatially estimate SIC dynamic following afforestation. The results showed that the SIC content significantly rose by 14.21% after afforestation. The SIC accumulation magnitude after cropland afforestation was less than that after grassland and sandland afforestation. Mean annual precipitation was the primary factor affecting the changes in SIC after cropland afforestation, and soil pH was key effect factor to SIC variations after grassland and sandland afforestation. The SIC variations following afforestation were directly or indirectly affected by climate factors, soil pH, total nitrogen, cation exchange capacity and response ratio of soil organic carbon (RR-SOC), indicating that pedogenic inorganic carbon is a key factor in SIC accumulation after afforestation. Spatial predictions of SIC dynamics following afforestation showed that SIC accumulation rate is comparable to that of SOC, indicating that SIC is equally important in soil carbon sequestration. In conclusion, our research results emphasized the significance of SIC, ignoring SIC could lead to a significant underestimation of the carbon sequestration capacity of the afforestation areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"45 ","pages":"Article e01098"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148184520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fire-induced genesis of maghemite from goethite in ferruginous gravels of Spanish ancient Ultisols","authors":"Fernando Peregrina ,&nbsp;Chiquinquirá Hontoria ,&nbsp;Eduardo Vázquez ,&nbsp;Ignacio Mariscal-Sancho ,&nbsp;Rafael Espejo Serrano","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The soils developed on the extensive continental detrital platforms (<em>raña</em>) of Western Spain are classified as Palexerults and Palehumults. Their morphology and chemical and mineralogical properties largely derive from the influence of pre-Quaternary climates. A distinctive feature of these soils is the abundance of coarse particles throughout the soil profile, particularly ferruginous gravels (Fe gravels) within the upper 40 cm, many of which exhibit magnetic properties. This study seeks to elucidate both the origin of this magnetism and the genesis of the Fe gravels. Soil samples were collected from three <em>rañas</em> at depths down to 80 cm. Coarse particle fractions of different types and sizes, together with the fine earth, were analysed using magnetic measurements, elemental analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Quartz and hematite predominate in all Fe gravels. Non-magnetic Fe gravels additionally contain goethite and kaolinite, whereas these phases are absent in magnetic Fe gravels, which instead contain maghemite. Data support that maghemite is responsible of the magnetic properties and was formed through thermal transformation of pre-existing goethite. In addition, Fe gravels could be originated in-situ through progressive disintegration and Fe enrichment of underlying weathered quartzites driven by fluctuating water tables under a humid subtropical pre-Quaternary climate. Subsequent recurrent wildfires, heating in organic-rich surface horizons transformed the goethite in the outer part of these gravels into maghemite, thereby generating the magnetic Fe gravels. These findings contribute to broader discussions on the role of fire in geochemical differentiation and soil genesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"45 ","pages":"Article e01097"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148184415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in organic carbon, structure and nematode density in boreal soils following conversion from grassland to cropland","authors":"Jari Hyväluoma ,&nbsp;Riikka Keskinen ,&nbsp;Petri Niemi ,&nbsp;Janne Salminen ,&nbsp;Sami Kinnunen ,&nbsp;Arttu Miettinen ,&nbsp;Janne Kaseva ,&nbsp;Helena Soinne","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grasslands are known to be beneficial for increasing carbon stocks in soils as well as enhancing a range of essential soil ecosystem functions. Conversion of grassland to cropland can lead to loss of these benefits. The purpose of this study was to consider how the soil properties are altered after such land-use change in the boreal climate. Our study setup consisted of three fields which had been under extensive grassland management from 10 to over 30 years. Part of each field was ploughed and taken to cereal production and the rest was left as grassland. Carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes from soil were measured during two growing seasons, and after the two years, the soil carbon stock, structure, and nematode densities were determined from both ploughed and undisturbed soils. Our results showed a practically and statistically significant land use change-induced reduction in soil carbon stock after two years. A significant reduction in the particulate organic carbon fraction was detected after the change. However, neither soil structural measures determined with X-ray tomography nor nematode density showed systematic alteration after the land-use change. Our results suggest that slow accumulation of carbon in soil leading to elevated carbon stocks can be easily lost if the favourable soil management ceases, which calls for long-term commitment to carbon conservation practices if lasting impacts are strived for.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"45 ","pages":"Article e01099"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148184416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multi-model ensemble for assessing atmospheric methane uptake by soils at local ecosystem scale","authors":"Michael Glagolev ,&nbsp;Dmitry Karelin ,&nbsp;Aleksandr Sabrekov ,&nbsp;Danil Ilyasov ,&nbsp;Olga Sukhoveeva","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01059","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01059","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Consumption of atmospheric methane (CH₄) in upland soils is a valuable sink of this potent greenhouse gas. Since this sink is highly sensitive to climate and land-use changes, several mathematical models have been developed in recent decades to quantify it on different spatial and temporal scales. However, predictions of these models are still scattered, implying the need for further model's improvement. Here, we utilized an ensemble modeling approach using field data for chernozem soils of agricultural and natural ecosystems in southern European Russia to test how seven existing methane consumption models perform on the local scale. We found that any of the tested models predicted CH₄ fluxes worse than the ensemble, which showed satisfactory Theil indexes of inequality (<em>k</em>_<em>T</em> = 0.144–0.284). Comparing different approaches to calculate the ensemble mean, we found that best predictions were obtained using the arithmetic mean (<em>k</em>_<em>T</em> = 0.144) and the half-sum of maximal and minimal values (<em>k</em>_<em>T</em> = 0.166). Our results indicated that using the ensemble of non-calibrated models could be effective on a local spatial scale without cost- and labor-demanding measurements required for model calibration and validation. Therefore, we recommend ensemble approach as a promising tool for calculation of methane budgets in complex landscapes, where different types of upland ecosystems are presented.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e01059"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147394373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glomalin-related soil protein as an indicator of changes generated by prescribed burning of scrubland in the Central Pyrenees: A ten-year study","authors":"Mohamed Emran ,&nbsp;Andoni Alfaro-Leranoz ,&nbsp;Clara Martí-Dalmau,&nbsp;David Badía-Villas","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2025.e01039","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2025.e01039","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The removal of shrub cover invading subalpine pastures in the southern Pyrenees is increasingly carried out by prescribed burning (PB). This study assesses the impact of PB on topsoil components utilizing glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) fractions and associated soil properties as indicators. Three fractions were analyzed: easily extractable (EE-GRSP), moderately extractable (ME-GRSP), and difficultly extractable (DE-GRSP), together with their organic carbon content (C-GRSP). Soil samples were collected at 0–1, 1–2, and 2–3 cm depth across a fire chronosequence: unburned (UB), immediately after PB (B0), and 6- and 10-year post-burn.</div><div>Total C-GRSP declined sharply after PB (8.44 g kg⁻¹ in UB to 5.95 g kg⁻¹ in B0) and continued decreasing at 6 and 10 years (3.54 g kg⁻¹ and 2.24 g kg⁻¹, respectively), reflecting long-term sensitivity to the disturbance that PB represents. EE-GRSP and DE-GRSP followed similar trends, with EE-GRSP showing the strongest reduction, suggesting higher sensitivity to vegetation cover loss and microbial disruption. The EE-GRSP/TGRSP ratio dropped after burning but partially recovered after 10 years, indicating gradual reactivation of glomalin production. Although concentrations decreased with soil depth, differences among the 0–3 cm layers were not significant under fire effects.</div><div>All GRSP fractions were strongly and positively correlated with organic carbon, total nitrogen, microbial biomass, basal respiration, and glucosidase activity. These findings highlight GRSP fractions and ratios as sensitive indicators of soil biochemical responses and recovery following low-severity PB. The results highlight the impact of fire on organic matter of microbial origin and the value of GRSP for monitoring soil resilience over time in ecosystems managed by fire.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e01039"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is organic carbon stock affected by core ring volume used for bulk density measurement?","authors":"Nicoly Letícia Seghetto Bolino ,&nbsp;Vanessa Silva Romanoski ,&nbsp;Cássio Antonio Tormena ,&nbsp;Jeferson Dieckow ,&nbsp;Karina Maria Vieira Cavalieri-Polizeli","doi":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01057","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geodrs.2026.e01057","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The soil is a carbon reservoir of the terrestrial ecosystem, and its dynamics regulate the atmospheric CO2 balance. Estimating soil organic carbon stocks requires accurate measurement of soil bulk density, typically by using core rings of known volume. Our literature review indicates that the most commonly used core ring size is 0.05 m height, 0.05 m in diameter, and 98 cm³ in volume. However, it is not clearly understood how different cylinder dimensions may affect soil bulk density values and therefore carbon stock estimates. This study evaluated the impact of core ring dimensions on soil bulk density and soil organic carbon stock estimations. The field experiment was conducted in a clayey Ferralsol in Southern Brazil, in a completely randomized design with three replicates. We tested four ring dimensions (height × diameter, in meters): Ring 1 (0.05 × 0.05 m) as a reference, Ring 2 (0.025 × 0.07 m), Ring 3 (0.04 × 0.06 m), and Ring 4 (0.05 × 0.075 m); with respective height: diameter ratios of 1.0, 0.4, 0.7, and 1.5, without using ring holders or a probe sampler. Soil samples were collected in 2023 (<strong><em>n</em></strong> = 120) from five depth layers (0–0.10, 0.10–0.20, 0.20–0.40, 0.40–0.60, and 0.60–1.00 m) across two land-use systems (Secondary Forest and Pasture), which exhibited a wide variation in soil organic carbon content. The analyzed soil attributes included soil organic carbon (SOC), soil bulk density (BD) and organic carbon stock (Cst). Our results demonstrate considerable flexibility in the choice of ring size for the assessment of these soil attributes. The influence of ring size on BD was minimal, with the only exception being a significant difference in the 0.20–0.40 m layer of the Pasture. However, the shape of the ring, specifically the height-to-diameter ratio, was associated with data variability. The ring with the lowest ratio (0.4) showed the greatest data dispersion in the heterogeneous soil of the Secondary Forest. Importantly, these small variations in BD did not result in significant differences in the final carbon stock estimates. For greater data consistency, particularly in heterogeneous soils, we recommend the use of rings with a height-to-diameter ratio greater than 0.7.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56001,"journal":{"name":"Geoderma Regional","volume":"44 ","pages":"Article e01057"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146173041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}