High crop productivity requires the soil to have the ability to sequester carbon. This study provided the opportunity to conduct a unique evaluation of the importance of soil – vegetative cover. Soil organic matter fractions, organic carbon, particulate organic matter C and C associated with macro-aggregate, were determined within four different ecosystems from soil depths of 0 to 30 cm.  We will discuss implications and challenges to our understanding of the role of land management history on C sequestration. One important finding is that undisturbed ecosystems can sequester more C in the soils due to continuous supply of plant residues compared to disturbed ecosystems.  Therefore, protecting surface soil layers from excessive physical exposure is mandatory.