This study analyses soil organic carbon (SOC) and hot-water extractable carbon, both measures of soil quality, under different land management-(i) conventional tillage (CT); (ii) CT plus the addition of oil mill waste alperujo (A); (iii) CT plus the addition of oil mill waste olive leaves (L); (iv) no tillage with chipped pruned branches (NT 1 ); and (v) no tillage with chipped pruned branches and weeds (NT 2 )-in a typical Mediterranean agricultural area: the olive groves of Andalusia, southern Spain. SOC values in CT, A, NT 1 and NT 2 decreased with depth, but in NT 2 , the surface horizon (0-5 cm) had higher values than the other treatments, 47% more than the average values in the other three soils. In L, SOC also decreased with depth, although there was an increase of 88·5% from the first (0-10 cm) to the second horizon (10-16 cm). Total SOC stock values were very similar under A (101·9 Mg ha À1 ), CT (101·7 Mg ha À1 ), NT 1 (105·8 Mg ha À1 ) and NT 2 (111·3 Mg ha À1 , if we consider the same depth of the others). However, SOC under L was significantly higher (p < 0·05) at 250·2 Mg ha À1 . Hot-water extractable carbon decreased with depth in A, CT and NT 1 . NT 2 and L followed the same pattern as the other management types but with a higher value in the surface horizon (2·3 and 4·9 mg g À1 , respectively). Overall, our results indicate that application of oil mill waste olive leaves under CT (L) is a good management practice to improve SOC and reduce waste.