Soil carbon

Soil carbon is the solid carbon stored in global soils. This includes both soil organic matter and inorganic carbon as carbonate minerals. Soil carbon contributes to vital functions of soil in ecosystems. Soil carbon is a carbon sink in regard to the global carbon cycle, playing a role in biogeochemistry, climate change mitigation, and constructing global climate models. Microorganisms play an important role in breaking down carbon in the soil. Changes in their activity due to rising temperatures could possibly influence and even contribute to climate change. Anthropogenic factors have increasingly changed soil carbon distributions. Human activities have caused a massive loss of soil organic carbon; however, there is potential for human activity to intentionally divert carbon back to the soil.