Eddy covariance diverges from inventory and model-based estimates of soil organic carbon stock change across five crop rotations in Belgian cropland
- 1University of Liège (Liège, Belgium)
Abstract
Quantifying long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in croplands is critical to evaluate their climate mitigation potential. We assessed SOC stock changes over 21 years at the BE-Lon ICOS cropland (Belgium) by comparing decadal soil inventories, RothC model simulations, and eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements, supported by comprehensive uncertainty propagation. Soil inventories indicated no significant change in SOC stocks, while RothC simulations indicated a gain of 20.4 ± 34.7 g C m −2 yr −1 . In contrast, EC-derived carbon budgets suggested mean annual SOC losses of 69.8 ± 19.2 g C m −2 yr −1 . Uncertainty in the flux-based approach was distributed evenly among spectral corrections, friction velocity thresholds, and lateral carbon flux estimates; yet it remained substantially smaller than the cumulative flux signal. A systematic positive discrepancy between EC-derived budget and RothC simulations suggests an underestimation of net carbon sequestration by the EC technique, which is consistent with the well-documented energy balance non-closure at cropland sites. Despite these methodological discrepancies, both EC and RothC consistently highlighted the critical role of management practices. Notably, both approaches identified the winter wheat–cover crop sequence as a moderate net carbon source in the absence of organic amendments. Conversely, manure application emerged as the primary driver of SOC stock accumulation. More broadly, this study highlights the necessity of combining process-based models, multi-decadal inventories, and EC flux measurements to reliably constrain SOC budgets and identify robust management drivers in cropland ecosystems.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{beauclaire2026eddy,
title = {{Eddy covariance diverges from inventory and model-based estimates of soil organic carbon stock change across five crop rotations in Belgian cropland}},
author = {Quentin Beauclaire and Bernard Longdoz and Laura Delhez and Bruna Winck and Benjamin Loubet and Yue Zhou and Marmar Sabetizade and Neo Arquin and Nicolas Saby and Bernard Heinesch},
journal = {Biogeosciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/bg-23-7345-2026},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05830321v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Eddy covariance diverges from inventory and model-based estimates of soil organic carbon stock change across five crop rotations in Belgian cropland
AU - Quentin Beauclaire
AU - Bernard Longdoz
AU - Laura Delhez
AU - Bruna Winck
AU - Benjamin Loubet
AU - Yue Zhou
AU - Marmar Sabetizade
AU - Neo Arquin
AU - Nicolas Saby
AU - Bernard Heinesch
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Biogeosciences
DO - 10.5194/bg-23-7345-2026
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05830321v1
AB - Quantifying long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in croplands is critical to evaluate their climate mitigation potential. We assessed SOC stock changes over 21 years at the BE-Lon ICOS cropland (Belgium) by comparing decadal soil inventories, RothC model simulations, and eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements, supported by comprehensive uncertainty propagation. Soil inventories indicated no significant change in SOC stocks, while RothC simulations indicated a gain of 20.4 ± 34.7 g C m −2 yr −1 . In contrast, EC-derived carbon budgets suggested mean annual SOC losses of 69.8 ± 19.2 g C m −2 yr −1 . Uncertainty in the flux-based approach was distributed evenly among spectral corrections, friction velocity thresholds, and lateral carbon flux estimates; yet it remained substantially smaller than the cumulative flux signal. A systematic positive discrepancy between EC-derived budget and RothC simulations suggests an underestimation of net carbon sequestration by the EC technique, which is consistent with the well-documented energy balance non-closure at cropland sites. Despite these methodological discrepancies, both EC and RothC consistently highlighted the critical role of management practices. Notably, both approaches identified the winter wheat–cover crop sequence as a moderate net carbon source in the absence of organic amendments. Conversely, manure application emerged as the primary driver of SOC stock accumulation. More broadly, this study highlights the necessity of combining process-based models, multi-decadal inventories, and EC flux measurements to reliably constrain SOC budgets and identify robust management drivers in cropland ecosystems.
SN - 1726-4170
SN - 1726-4189
ER -