THE IMPORTANCE OF SOIL ORGANIC CARBON IN SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT

Implementation of improper agricultural practices, destruction of forest areas and land use changes are among the factors that trigger the increase in the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. One of the most effective ways to prevent this upward trend is to ensure that carbon remains in the “soil”. Combating desertification, stopping biodiversity losses and land degradation neutrality are considered as critical steps so that the carbon can be stored in the soil. However, “losses in the soil organic carbon”, which is an important biophysical indicator in ensuring Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and seen among the ten main threats to soil by the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), makes its impact more intense today. In this context, more emphasis should be placed on activities aimed at determining the amount of soil organic carbon stocks, monitoring temporal and spatial variability, protecting and increasing the stock amount, and these studies should be diversified in order to prevent losses in the soil organic carbon and to ensure Sustainable Soil Management (SSM). In line with this information, the place and importance of the soil organic carbon in the SSM, especially the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, has been mentioned in the study. Policy recommendations were made on the subject by the study enriched with the examples of projects carried out in this field in Turkey.