Preparing a soil carbon inventory of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany using GIS and the state soil data base SABO_P

To obtain information on regional soil carbon (C) stocks, we prepared a soil C inventory for the central German State Saxony‐Anhalt. We used the State Soil Database SABO_P (Sachsen‐Anhalt Boden_Profildatenbank), which contains data from 3,600 soil profiles with 16,300 individual soil horizons and combined it with a geographic information system (GIS ArcView). Soil C stocks down to a depth of 100 cm were compiled for the three major soil regions of Saxony‐Anhalt (soil region 2: river valleys and floodplains; soil region 4: pre‐Weichselian moraines, and soil region 6: loess‐covered areas), which represent 83 % of the total state territory. The three major soil regions in Saxony‐Anhalt comprise on average 12.7 (soil region 2), 8.9 (soil region 4), and 12.8 kg C m–2 (soil region 6). Total C content of the area investigated was 191 tg. The typical soils of the region, Haplic Chernozems, contain on average 13.9 kg C m–2. With few exceptions, soil C did not vary significantly within identical taxonomic groups among different soil subregions. However, Chernozems of soil subregion 3 (Wanzlebener Löß‐Plateau; 19.8 kg C m–2) contain significantly more C than the Chernozems of soil subregions 9 (Pollebener, Gerbstedter and Lettewitzer Löß‐Plateau; 12.1 kg C m–2) and 15 (Barnstädter Löß‐Plateau 12.2 kg C m–2). The spatial distribution of C stocks in Saxony‐Anhalt was represented in a map which suggests the existence of a strong link between the geomorphologic position of a given soil and its capacity to store organic C. Within the same taxonomic unit, finer textured soils stored more carbon than coarse‐textured ones. Inventur der Vorräte an organischem Kohlenstoff für Böden von Sachsen‐Anhalt mittels GIS und basierend auf der Bodenprofildatenbank SABO_P Wir ermittelten die räumliche Verbreitung der Kohlenstoffvorräte in den Böden Sachsen‐Anhalts. Dazu wurde die Datenbank SABO_P (Sachsen‐Anhalt Boden‐Profildatenbank), die Daten von insgesamt 3.600 Profilen mit zusammen 16.300 Horizonten enthält, mit einem Geographischen Informationssystem (GIS, ArcView) gekoppelt. Wir schätzten die Kohlenstoffvorräte bis 100 cm Bodentiefe für die drei wichtigsten Bodenregionen in Sachsen‐Anhalt (Bodenregion 2: Flusslandschaften; Bodenregion 4: Altmoränenlandschaften; Bodenregion 6: Löss‐ und Sandlösslandschaften), die 83 % der Landesfläche umfassen. Die durchschnittlichen Gehalte an organischem Kohlenstoff in den drei Bodenregionen sind 12,7 kg C m–2 (Bodenregion 2), 8,9 kg C m–2 (Boden