Topographic controls of soil organic carbon on soil-mantled landscapes

Large uncertainties in global carbon (C) budgets stem from soil carbon estimates and associated challenges in distributing soil organic carbon (SOC) at local to landscape scales owing to lack of information on soil thickness and controls on SOC storage. Here we show that 94% of the fine-scale variation in total profile SOC within a 1.8 km(2) semi-arid catchment in Idaho, U.S.A. can be explained as a function of aspect and hillslope curvature when the entire vertical dimension of SOC is measured and fine-resolution (3 m) digital elevation models are utilized. Catchment SOC stocks below 0.3 m depth based on our SOC-curvature model account for >50% of the total SOC indicating substantial underestimation of stocks if sampled at shallower depths. A rapid assessment method introduced here also allows for accurate catchment-wide total SOC inventory estimation with a minimum of one soil pit and topographic data if spatial distribution of total profile SOC is not required. Comparison of multiple datasets shows generality in linear SOC-curvature and -soil thickness relationships at multiple scales. We conclude that mechanisms driving variations in carbon storage in hillslope catchment soils vary spatially at relatively small scales and can be described in a deterministic fashion given adequate topographic data.