Current and Potential Soil Carbon Storage in Chilean Patagonian Volcanic Soils

A 2026 study by Michell Figueroa quantifies soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in volcanic soils across Chile. It uses a national soil database of 1,660 samples and applies models to 173 soils from the Aysén Region under different land uses. The analysis estimates current SOC stocks and their potential capacity, highlighting the role of reactive aluminum (Alₐ) as a key mineralogical control.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil carbon storage potential based on mineral reactivity indicators like Alₐ.
• Comparing current versus potential carbon stocks across land uses such as agriculture, grasslands, wetlands, and peatlands.
• Informing land management strategies aimed at enhancing carbon sequestration in volcanic soils.
• Evaluating the adequacy of soil texture-based models for estimating SOC in reactive mineral environments.

Strengths

• Based on a national soil database covering a Chilean latitudinal gradient with 1,660 samples.
• Includes a focused analysis of 173 soil samples from the Aysén Region under specific land uses.
• Provides concrete estimates, such as an average SOC storage potential of 358 t C ha⁻¹ for the region and a current stock deficit averaging 33.5%.
• Explicitly quantifies the importance of reactive aluminum, with thresholds like Alₐ > 600 mg kg⁻¹ indicating high storage potential.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the primary dataset is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small (608.7 KB), indicating limited scope, likely containing summary data or a supplementary document rather than the full raw observations.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Michell Figueroa.

Collection Method

Quantile regression models applied to a national soil database to estimate SOC storage thresholds.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-21 05:36:05.

Geography

Chile, with a focus on the Aysén Region in Patagonia.