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Description

This package contains worldwide soil carbon and nitrogen data for more than 3,500 soil profiles. The database was begun about 40 years ago with the collection and analyses by Zinke of soil samples from California. Additional data came from soil surveys of California, Italy and Greece, Iran, Thailand, Vietnam, various tropical Amazonian areas, U.S. forest soils,and from the soil survey literature. The main samples for laboratory analyses were collected at uniform soil depth increments and included bulk density determinations, but samples reported in the literature did not always have this uniformity. For the latter group of samples, only profiles that were samples to a meter depth or to actual depth were used; if bulk densities were not reported, then estimates were made from regressions based on organic carbon content of the soil samples associated with the profile. Methods used for analytical carbon determinations were dry combustion, 'wet combustion', or loss on ignition with adjustments made to the values obtained with the last two methods. Nitrogen was determined by the Kjeldahl method on the soil fine earth fraction and reported as total organic nitrogen. The data can be used to estimate the size of the soil's organic carbon and nitrogen pools at equilibrium with natural soil-forming factors. Most of the data are from profiles associated with natural vegetation so they constitute a baseline for evaluation of the effects that disturbance or modification to natural vegetation has on soil carbon equilibrium at either a global or regional scale. The data can also be used for understanding the range and viability of soil carbon and nitrogen pools for specific ecosystems or climatic regimes.

Product Summary

Platforms
FIELD SURVEYS
Instruments
BALANCE ,
COLORIMETERS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1940-01-01 to 1986-12-31
Data Partner
THE OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ORNL) DISTRIBUTED ACTIVE ARCHIVE CENTER (DAAC) (ORNL_DAAC)
Concept ID
C2216862657-ORNL_CLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
2
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Organic Matter ,
Soil Chemistry

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Zinke, P. J., Stangenberger, A. G., Post, W. M., Emanuel, W. R., & Olson, J. S. (1998). Global Organic Soil Carbon and Nitrogen (Zinke et al.) (Version 1). ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/221 Date Accessed: 2026-05-01

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
Detecting Change in Belowground Carbon Stocks: Statistical Feasibility and Future Opportunities from Loblolly Pine Forests Vickery, Caroline E., Munro, Holly L., Green, P. Corey, Strahm, Brian D. Soil Respiration, Ecosystem Functions, Soil Respiration, Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Reviews and syntheses: The promise of big diverse soil data, moving current practices towards future potential Todd-Brown, Katherine E. O., Abramoff, Rose Z., Beem-Miller, Jeffrey, Blair, Hava K., Earl, Stevan, Frederick, Kristen J., Fuka, Daniel R., Guevara Santamaria, Mario, Harden, Jennifer W., Heckman, Katherine, Heran, Lillian J., Holmquist, James R., Hoyt, Alison M., Klinges, David H., LeBauer, David S., Malhotra, Avni, McClelland, Shelby C., Nave, Lucas E., Rocci, Katherine S., Schaeffer, Sean M., Stoner, Shane, van Gestel, Natasja, von Fromm, Sophie F., Younger, Marisa L. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Implementation of nitrogen cycle in the CLASSIC land model Asaadi, Ali, Arora, Vivek K. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change: Scaling Ecological Energetics from Organism to the Biosphere Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Organic nitrogen addition suppresses fungal richness and alters community composition in temperate forest soils Cline, Lauren C., Huggins, Julia A., Hobbie, Sarah E., Kennedy, Peter G. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Simulated effects of nitrogen saturation on the global carbon budget using the IBIS model Lu, Xuehe, Jiang, Hong, Liu, Jinxun, Zhang, Xiuying, Jin, Jiaxin, Zhu, Qiuan, Zhang, Zhen, Peng, Changhui Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Global soil organic carbon assessment Stockmann, Uta, Padarian, Jose, McBratney, Alex, Minasny, Budiman, de Brogniez, Delphine, Montanarella, Luca, Hong, Suk Young, Rawlins, Barry G., Field, Damien J. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Soil Horizons/Profile, Carbon, Nitrogen, Soil Classification, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Impedance, Soil Color, Soil Bulk Density, Soil Structure, Soil Texture, Cation Exchange Capacity, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Nitrogen, Carbon, Biomass, Nutrients
Model assessments of organic carbon amounts released from long-term permafrost under scenarios of global warming in the 21st century Arzhanov, M. M., Mokhov, I. I. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Data-Model Needs for Belowground Ecology. A Summary Report from the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) Mini-Workshop, May 8, 2014 Bailey, Vanessa, Hanson, Paul J., Jastrow, Julie, Torn, Margaret, Stover, Daniel Organic Matter, Soil Bulk Density, Soil Classification, Soil Depth, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Texture, Phosphorus, Soil Chemistry, Soil Chemistry, Soil Respiration, Soil Respiration, Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Air Temperature, Precipitation Amount, Soil Water Holding Capacity, Biomass, Nutrients, Plant Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Carbon, Forests, Respiration Rate, Primary Production, Heat Flux, Sediment Transport, Carbon, Nitrogen, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Vegetation Cover, Leaf Characteristics, Canopy Characteristics, Albedo, Reflectance, Water Table, Soil Classification, Geomorphic Landforms/Processes, Soil Color, Soil Horizons/Profile, Soil Structure, Soil Ph, Drainage, Terrain Elevation, Methane, Nitric Oxide, Nitrous Oxide, Litter Characteristics, Soil Gas/Air, Isotopes, Reforestation/Revegetation, Soil Gas/Air, Ammonia, Nitrogen Oxides, Ecosystem Functions, Cation Exchange Capacity, Suspended Solids, Forest Composition/Vegetation Structure, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Vegetation Species, Humidity, Soil Moisture, Soil Porosity, Nitrogen, Trace Gases/Trace Species, Soil Fertility, Permafrost, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Total Dissolved Solids, Wetlands, Inundation, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Carbon, Nitrous Oxide, Discharge, Groundwater Chemistry, Discharge/Flow, Surface Water Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles
Soils of temperate rainforests of the North American Pacific Coast Carpenter, Dunbar N., Bockheim, James G., Reich, Paul F. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Effect of heterogeneous atmospheric CO<SUB>2</SUB> on simulated global carbon budget Zhang, Zhen, Jiang, Hong, Liu, Jinxun, Ju, Weimin, Zhang, Xiuying Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Nitrogen Compounds, Nitrogen Oxides
Terrestrial carbon balance in tropical Asia: Contribution from cropland expansion and land management Tao, Bo, Tian, Hanqin, Chen, Guangsheng, Ren, Wei, Lu, Chaoqun, Alley, Kelly D., Xu, Xiaofeng, Liu, Mingliang, Pan, Shufen, Virji, Hassan Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Soil Bulk Density, Sediment Transport, Primary Production, Biogeochemical Cycles, Soil Depth
A worldwide view of organic carbon export from catchments Alvarez-Cobelas, M., Angeler, D. G., Sanchez-Carrillo, S., Almendros, G. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Carbon-nitrogen feedbacks in the UVic ESCM Wania, R., Meissner, K. J., Eby, M., Arora, V. K., Ross, I., Weaver, A. J. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Nitrogen Compounds, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon, Nitrogen, Soil Water Holding Capacity, Soil Bulk Density, Soil Classification, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Horizons/Profile
<SUP>15</SUP>N constraints on long-term nitrogen balances in temperate forests Perakis, Steven S., Sinkhorn, Emily R., Compton, Jana E. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Pedotransfer functions for estimating total soil nitrogen up to the global scale Glendining, M. J., Dailey, A. G., Powlson, D. S., Richter, G. M., Catt, J. A., Whitmore, A. P. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Effects of variations in simulated changes in soil carbon contents and dynamics on future climate projections YUROVA, ALLA YU, VOLODIN, EUGENY M., AGREN, GORAN I., CHERTOV, OLEG G., KOMAROV, ALEXANDER S. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
Pattern and variation of C:N:P ratios in China's soils: a synthesis of observational data Tian, Hanqin, Chen, Guangsheng, Zhang, Chi, Melillo, Jerry M., Hall, Charles A. S. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Water Table, Vegetation Cover, Soil Classification, Geomorphic Landforms/Processes, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Soil Bulk Density, Soil Classification, Soil Color, Soil Depth, Soil Horizons/Profile, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Structure, Soil Ph, Drainage, Soil Texture, Terrain Elevation
Global Analysis of the Riverine Transport of90Sr and137Cs Smith, Jim T., Wright, Simon M., Cross, Matthew A., Monte, Luigi, Kudelsky, Anatoly V., Saxen, Ritva, Vakulovsky, Sergei M., Timms, David N. Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry, Soil Porosity, Carbon, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Ph
Temporal changes of forest net primary production and net ecosystem production in west central Canada associated with natural and anthropogenic disturbances Li, Zhong, Apps, Michael J, Kurz, Werner A, Banfield, Ed Organic Matter, Soil Chemistry
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