This study reveals rapid and severe soil degradation following deforestation in the Eastern African Rift, with cropland soils on mafic parent material losing up to 69% of their soil organic carbon. At the same time, reactive metal phases were found to stabilize soil organic carbon in highly degraded mafic soils despite strongly reduced fertility indicators. These findings suggest that soil organic carbon content may not always reflect soil fertility in degraded tropical soils. These results provide important insights for sustainable land management and food security in tropical Africa.

This study highlights reservoirs, which are widespread and expanding human made systems, as significant sources of nitrous oxide, with important implications for climate policy and water management. It provides a major advance by directly quantifying nitrous oxide production pathways in eutrophic reservoirs. Addressing key issues of climate change, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions, the work is both timely and highly relevant. Conducted in Mediterranean systems, it also offers valuable insights for regional and global understanding of human impacts on biogeochemical cycles.

This publication presents measurements of sedimentary organic carbon stocks in the vegetated shorelines of boreal lakes, so called ‘teal carbon’ environments. The three large Finland lakes in this study show a large variability in teal carbon storage, with grain size as the most significant parameter explaining the variability. The amount of sedimentary organic carbon storage is related further to abiotic and biotic controls. Teal carbon is an important component of overall lacustrine carbon storage, and the process-based controls elucidated in this study may provide insight into carbon storage in other boreal lakes as well.