Articles | Volume 23, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7345-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-7345-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Oct 2026
Research article |
| 21 Oct 2026
| 21 Oct 2026
Eddy covariance diverges from inventory and model-based estimates of soil organic carbon stock change across five crop rotations in Belgian cropland
Quentin Beauclaire
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Biosystems Dynamics and Exchanges, TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
Bernard Longdoz
Biosystems Dynamics and Exchanges, TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
Laura Delhez
Biosystems Dynamics and Exchanges, TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
Bruna Winck
ECOSYS, University Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Palaiseau, France
Benjamin Loubet
ECOSYS, University Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Palaiseau, France
Laboratoire de Géologie, École Normale Supérieure (ENS), CNRS, Paris, France
Marmar Sabetizade
Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
Neo Arquin
Biosystems Dynamics and Exchanges, TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
Nicolas Saby
Info&Sols, INRAE, Orléans, France
Bernard Heinesch
Biosystems Dynamics and Exchanges, TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
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Amicie A. Delahaie, Lauric Cécillon, Marija Stojanova, Samuel Abiven, Pierre Arbelet, Dominique Arrouays, François Baudin, Antonio Bispo, Line Boulonne, Claire Chenu, Jussi Heinonsalo, Claudy Jolivet, Kristiina Karhu, Manuel Martin, Lorenza Pacini, Christopher Poeplau, Céline Ratié, Pierre Roudier, Nicolas P. A. Saby, Florence Savignac, and Pierre Barré
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Changxing Lan, Matthias Mauder, Stavros Stagakis, Benjamin Loubet, Claudio D'Onofrio, Stefan Metzger, David Durden, and Pedro-Henrique Herig-Coimbra
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Christophe Djemiel, Samuel Dequiedt, Walid Horrigue, Arthur Bailly, Mélanie Lelièvre, Julie Tripied, Charles Guilland, Solène Perrin, Gwendoline Comment, Nicolas P. A. Saby, Claudy Jolivet, Antonio Bispo, Line Boulonne, Antoine Pierart, Patrick Wincker, Corinne Cruaud, Pierre-Alain Maron, Sébastien Terrat, and Lionel Ranjard
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Yang Liu, Raluca Ciuraru, Letizia Abis, Crist Amelynck, Pauline Buysse, Alex Guenther, Bernard Heinesch, Florence Lafouge, Florent Levavasseur, Benjamin Loubet, Auriane Voyard, and Raia-Silvia Massad
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Preprint archived
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This paper reviews the emission and emission processes of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from various crops and soil under different management practices, highlighting challenges in modeling the emissions and proposing a conceptual model for estimation. The aim of this paper is to present agricultural BVOC data and related mechanistic processes to enhance model accuracy and reduce uncertainties in estimating BVOC emissions from agriculture.
Victor Moinard, Antoine Savoie, Catherine Pasquier, Adeline Besnault, Yolaine Goubard-Delaunay, Baptiste Esnault, Marco Carozzi, Polina Voylokov, Sophie Génermont, Benjamin Loubet, Catherine Hénault, Florent Levavasseur, Jean-Marie Paillat, and Sabine Houot
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-161, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-161, 2024
Preprint archived
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Anaerobic digestion is used for biogas production. The resulting digestates may be associated with different crop performances and N losses compared to undigested animal effluents. We monitored N flows during a three-year field experiment with different fertilizations based on cattle effluents, digestates, or mineral fertilizers. Digestates were effective N fertilizer but required attention to NH3 volatilization. We identified no additional risks of N2O emissions with digestates.
Pauline Buysse, Benjamin Loubet, Raluca Ciuraru, Florence Lafouge, Brigitte Durand, Olivier Zurfluh, Céline Décuq, Olivier Fanucci, Lais Gonzaga Gomez, Jean-Christophe Gueudet, Sandy Bsaibes, Nora Zannoni, and Valérie Gros
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2438, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2438, 2024
Preprint withdrawn
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This research aimed at quantifying biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions by a rapeseed crop field. Such compounds are precursors of atmospheric pollutants. Our study revealed that methanol, a BVOC that is not very reactive in the atmosphere, is by far the most emitted BVOC, while monoterpenes, being highly reactive, were emitted in larger quantities than expected. Our study therefore points out the potentially more significant contribution of croplands to atmospheric pollution.
Amicie A. Delahaie, Pierre Barré, François Baudin, Dominique Arrouays, Antonio Bispo, Line Boulonne, Claire Chenu, Claudy Jolivet, Manuel P. Martin, Céline Ratié, Nicolas P. A. Saby, Florence Savignac, and Lauric Cécillon
SOIL, 9, 209–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-209-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-209-2023, 2023
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We characterized organic matter in French soils by analysing samples from the French RMQS network using Rock-Eval thermal analysis. We found that thermal analysis is appropriate to characterize large set of samples (ca. 2000) and provides interpretation references for Rock-Eval parameter values. This shows that organic matter in managed soils is on average more oxidized and more thermally stable and that some Rock-Eval parameters are good proxies for organic matter biogeochemical stability.
Alexandre M. J.-C. Wadoux, Nicolas P. A. Saby, and Manuel P. Martin
SOIL, 9, 21–38, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-21-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-21-2023, 2023
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We introduce Shapley values for machine learning model interpretation and reveal the local and global controlling factors of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. The method enables spatial analysis of the important variables. Vegetation and topography determine much of the SOC stock variation in mainland France. We conclude that SOC stock variation is complex and should be interpreted at multiple levels.
Benjamin Loubet, Pauline Buysse, Lais Gonzaga-Gomez, Florence Lafouge, Raluca Ciuraru, Céline Decuq, Julien Kammer, Sandy Bsaibes, Christophe Boissard, Brigitte Durand, Jean-Christophe Gueudet, Olivier Fanucci, Olivier Zurfluh, Letizia Abis, Nora Zannoni, François Truong, Dominique Baisnée, Roland Sarda-Estève, Michael Staudt, and Valérie Gros
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2817–2842, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2817-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2817-2022, 2022
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are precursors of tropospheric pollutants like ozone or aerosols. Emission by agricultural land was still poorly characterized. We report experimental measurements of ecosystem-scale VOC fluxes above a wheat field with a highly sensitive proton transfer mass spectrometer. We report the fluxes of 123 compounds and confirm that methanol is the most emitted VOC by wheat. The second most emitted compound was C6H4O. Around 75 % of the compounds were deposited.
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Short summary
We studied how soil organic carbon stocks changed over 21 years in a Belgian cropland by combining soil sampling, a soil carbon model, and measurements from a flux tower. The soil appeared mostly stable overall, but the flux-tower approach suggested much larger carbon losses than the other methods. Our results show that using several approaches together is important to better understand soil organic carbon changes and to identify farming practices that either build up or reduce soil carbon.
We studied how soil organic carbon stocks changed over 21 years in a Belgian cropland by...
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