kaoutar boufous, Luís Carlos Colocho Hurtarte, Nicolas Gustavo da Cruz da Silva, Lílian Angélica Moreira, Malak Elmeknassi, Paulo Sérgio Pavinato, Luiz Antônio Martinelli, Matheus Sampaio Carneiro Barreto, Hudson Wallace Pereira de Carvalho
vegetation and tight C-N cycling. Using synchrotron-based micro-FTIR imaging, we observed that PG promoted greater spatial clustering of SOC functional groups and stronger organo-mineral associations with clay minerals, suggesting enhanced SOC stabilization. These findings suggest that stabilization occurred primarily through enhanced physical protection rather than shifts in carbon chemical composition and was increasingly associated with Ca-mediated binding. Our results show that combining a perennial cover crop with PG management enhances long-term soil carbon storage and nutrient cycling, while promoting SOC stabilization in tropical coffee agroecosystems.