Siyi Sun, M. Francesca Cotrufo, R. A. Viscarra Rossel, Carsten W. Mueller, Morimaru Kida, Ailsa G. Hardie, Alec Mackay, Alexander H. Krichels, Wulf Amelung, Amit Kumar, A. Suleymanov, Baoku Shi, Bernard Jackson Cosby, César Plaza, César Terrer, Chang Liang, Chang Liao, Christopher Just, Ding Guo, Emanuele Lugato, Enqing Hou, Fan Ding, Fazhu Zhao, Feng Tao, Fernando T. Maestre, Franco Bilotto, Fuzhong Wu, Gisela Vanesa García, Gongwen Luo, Guangxuan Han, Guillermo Alberto Studdert, Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez, Guoxiang Niu, Gervasio Piñeiro, Gustavo Saiz, Haikuo Zhang, Hamada Abdelrahman, Haodi Xu, Inma Lebron, I. N. Kurganova, Jennifer Blesh, J. A. Kristensen, Ji Liu, Jiacong Zhou, Jianping Wu, Jitendra Ahirwal, Junji Cao, Jørgen E. Olesen, Karin Kauer, Katerina Georgiou, Kees Jan van Groenigen, Kristof Van Oost, Kwame Agyei Frimpong, L. H. Deng, Liane G. Benning, Liang Guo, L. Mujuru, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Maoz Dor, Mehdi Rahmati, Min Luo, Olga Kalinina, Olli Hyvärinen, Pablo García-Palacios, Paige M. Hansen, Patra Rounak, Pengpeng Duan, Pengzhi Zhao, Peter M. Homyak, Rajan Ghimire, Renaldas Žydelis, Roland Bol, Ronaldo Vibart, Ruiying Chang, Ruyi Luo, Sebastián Horacio Villarino, Shuai Xue, Shuli Niu, Shuotong Chen, Tengfei Yu, Steven J. Hall, Thomas Kätterer, Tida Ge, Vusumuzi Erick Mbanjwa, V. Semenov, Weixing Liu, Weiyu Shi, Wei Zhang, Wolfgang Wanek, Wolfram Buss, Xiangrong Cheng, Xiankai Lu, Xiaojun Shi, X. -F. Cheng, Xiaorong Wei, Xiaotong Liu, Xuhui Zhou, Yahya Kooch, Yangquanwei Zhong, Yanjiang Cai
Soil organic carbon (SOC) comprises particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), which differ in formation, stabilization, and loss mechanisms. While the current global distribution of POC and MAOC is characterized, their vulnerability under future climate scenarios remains unclear. Using 3284 topsoil (0-30 cm) observations from six continents, we identify high-latitude soils as global hotspots of SOC vulnerability under shared socioeconomic pathway scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585). Under a high-emission scenario (SSP585), high-latitude soils are projected to lose substantial POC by 2100, accounting for about 81 ± 10% of total SOC losses. These declines are driven by the high proportion of SOC stored as POC (fPOC) and its high temperature sensitivity. We show that fPOC is a robust indicator of SOC vulnerability to climate change. Globally, the projected POC decline corresponds to a cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) release of 81.34 Pg CO2-equivalent by 2100, highlighting the importance of preserving POC to mitigate climate feedbacks. High-latitude soils are future soil organic carbon loss hotspots, with losses dominated by particulate organic carbon (POC). The fraction of POC in total SOC (fPOC) is a key indicator, emphasizing the climate importance of preserving POC.