Soil Carbon Regulating Ecosystem Services in the State of South Carolina, USA

Abstract

Sustainable management of soil carbon (C) at the state level requires valuation of soil C regulating ecosystem services (ES) and disservices (ED). The objective of this study was to assess the value of regulating ES from soil organic carbon (SOC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC), and total soil carbon (TSC) stocks, based on the concept of the avoided social cost of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the state of South Carolina (SC) in the United States of America (U.S.A.) by soil order, soil depth (0–200 cm), region and county using information from the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) database. The total estimated monetary mid-point value for TSC in the state of South Carolina was $124.36B (i.e., $124.36 billion U.S. dollars, where B = billion = 109), $107.14B for SOC, and $17.22B for SIC. Soil orders with the highest midpoint value for SOC were: Ultisols ($64.35B), Histosols ($11.22B), and Inceptisols ($10.31B). Soil orders with the highest midpoint value for SIC were: Inceptisols ($5.91B), Entisols ($5.53B), and Alfisols ($5.0B). Soil orders with the highest midpoint value for TSC were: Ultisols ($64.35B), Inceptisols ($16.22B), and Entisols ($14.65B). The regions with the highest midpoint SOC values were: Pee Dee ($34.24B), Low Country ($32.17B), and Midlands ($29.24B). The regions with the highest midpoint SIC values were: Low Country ($5.69B), Midlands ($5.55B), and Pee Dee ($4.67B). The regions with the highest midpoint TSC values were: Low Country ($37.86B), Pee Dee ($36.91B), and Midlands ($34.79B). The counties with the highest midpoint SOC values were Colleton ($5.44B), Horry ($5.37B), and Berkeley ($4.12B). The counties with the highest midpoint SIC values were Charleston ($1.46B), Georgetown ($852.81M, where M = million = 106), and Horry ($843.18M). The counties with the highest midpoint TSC values were Horry ($6.22B), Colleton ($6.02B), and Georgetown ($4.87B). Administrative areas (e.g., counties, regions) combined with pedodiversity concepts can provide useful information to design cost-efficient policies to manage soil carbon regulating ES at the state level.

Land Cover Change and Soil Carbon Regulating Ecosystem Services in the State of South Carolina, USA

“…Several counties had development in agriculturally productive soils (Alfisols and Mollisols) which are commonly considered to be soil carbon hotspots with higher SC-CO 2 . In South Carolina, these agriculturally productive soils are relatively rare and represent less than 10% of the total state area, compared to Ultisols, which cover 70% of South Carolina [15]. Over time, loss of productive agricultural soils to development can reduce local food security.…”

“…The Southeastern United States and South Carolina are experiencing some of the highest urbanization rates and losses of ecosystem services [12,22]. Mikhailova et al (2020) [15] examined soil C regulating ES in the state of South Carolina and reported the value of the social cost of carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) emissions by soil C type (SOC, SIC, TSC), soil order, region, and county in the context of "avoided" versus potential "realized" social costs of carbon. Although informative, that study lacked integration with LULC change analysis to indicate "hotspots" of potential "realized" social costs of C because of disturbance (change in LULC), especially in the "developed" LULC category.…”

“…Previous research on soil C regulating ES in the state of South Carolina estimated the avoided social costs of carbon attributed to soil organic carbon (SOC, $107.14B), soil inorganic carbon (SIC, $17.22B), and total soil carbon (TSC, $124.36B) and was conducted at various scales using both biophysical (soil orders) and administrative accounts (state, region, county) [15]. That study used pedodiversity concepts (soil order) integrated with administrative units to report and rank estimates of avoided social costs of soil C, which provide practical information to design soil C management at various scales [15].…”

Are Mechanical and Biological Techniques Efficient in Restoring Soil and Associated Biodiversity in a Brownfield Site?

“…In addition to acting as a substrate for vegetation, soils play a key role in multiple processes, including biogeochemical cycling, biodiversity habitat provision, and extreme event mitigation [1][2][3]. They also contribute significantly to the global carbon cycle [1,[4][5][6][7][8] and store approximately 2500 Gt of carbon [9]. However, current alterations in the ecological functions of soils (biological, hydric, climatic, and agronomic), resulting from their occupation or use, also known as artificialization, strongly affect their capacity to provide ecosystem services [10].…”

Soil Health Evaluation of Farmland Based on Functional Soil Management—A Case Study of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, China

“…), and is a life cycle in a dynamic equilibrium state [15,16]. Soil offers support to significant global ecosystem services, such as water purification, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and providing habitat for biodiversity [17,18]. Soils contribute to general ecosystem services, defined as "services to society that ecosystems provide," which require collaboration among different disciplines [19].…”