Managing C: Accomplishments and Policies over a Century.

Soil carbon arguably is the most essential component of soil.  Soil C impacts physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil.  Managing for carbon indirectly and directly has been a goal for land management and policies.  Research on soil C in the first half of the last century was directed to chemical characterization.  In the US in the 1930’s the era of the dust bowl focused on erosion. In 1970’s soil C was a point of management by way of no-till systems. The impact of improved soil C ranged from water, physical and chemical attributes. In the 1980’s the era of soil quality examined the role of soil C on soil quality.  In the 1990’s and 2000’s research and policies put soil C at the forefront of mitigation efforts for reducing atmospheric CO2. However the soil community was unprepared for the accounting requirements to monitor changes in soil C under a verifiable accounting system even though soil C had been measured for over a century. Currently soil C is a key component for biological diversity. Each of these moments in history have provided challenges to soil scientists. Have we been prepared to meet those challenges? In some cases we have been not anticipated the needs.