Unlocking Soil Organic Carbon Potential in Sustainable Agriculture

ABSTRACT Soil organic carbon (SOC) is central to soil health, crop productivity, and agroecosystem resilience because of its influence on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and processes. However, increasing SOC does not uniformly improve crop productivity, as SOC responses to management are often slow and the resulting agronomic benefits depend on soil, climate, and management context. In this narrative review, we synthesize evidence from arable field studies without constraining geographic boundaries to examine SOC‐associated soil processes, long‐term SOC changes under agricultural management, and relationships between SOC content and crop yield. Nine long‐term field studies spanning diverse geographic and climatic regions were used to summarize changes in SOC over time under contrasting management practices. To explore SOC‐yield relationships, studies reporting both SOC and yield were compiled from long‐term field studies of corn and wheat as examples. Across these studies, SOC content was positively associated with corn and wheat yields, although the strength of these relationships varied and likely reflected interactions among soil, climate, cropping systems, and management. Specifically, the slow and context‐dependent nature of SOC responses, climate variability, trade‐offs between C sequestration and agronomic benefits, and socio‐economic barriers to implementing SOC‐enhancing practices pose major challenges in adopting management strategies that increase SOC. Addressing these challenges will require long‐term field monitoring, optimization of C and nutrient inputs and soil disturbance, climate‐adaptive management, and supportive economic and policy frameworks. Overall, SOC management should move beyond increasing C stocks alone toward context‐specific strategies that enhance SOC‐associated soil functions and support crop productivity and agroecosystem resilience.