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Incorporating aridity in soil carbon stewardship frameworks

Nature Climate Change volume 15, pages 240–242 (2025)Cite this article

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Stewardship of soil carbon sits at the nexus of efforts to mitigate climate change, improve soil health and increase climate resiliency of agricultural production. Unlocking the full potential of soils to support a sustainable future requires embracing the unique and contrasting realities of soil carbon dynamics in arid versus humid systems.

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Fig. 1: In arid and humid systems, soil carbon cycling and effective stewardship strategies differ.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology award number 2016003 and an award from King Philanthropies to the Environmental Defense Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    M. Francesca Cotrufo & Jocelyn M. Lavallee

  2. Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY, USA

    Jocelyn M. Lavallee

Authors
  1. M. Francesca Cotrufo
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  2. Jocelyn M. Lavallee
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M.F.C. and J.M.L. conceived the idea, and wrote and edited the paper.

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Correspondence to M. Francesca Cotrufo.

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Competing interests

M.F.C. is the co-founder and Scientific Director of Cquester Analytics LLC. J.M.L. declares no competing interests.

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Cotrufo, M.F., Lavallee, J.M. Incorporating aridity in soil carbon stewardship frameworks. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 240–242 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02270-9

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