National Soil Carbon Network Breakout Thanks to our rapporteur: Mark Waldrop participants

National Soil Carbon Network breakout Mission: Improve the understanding of carbon dynamics in soils across the United States — including the spatial and temporal distribution and stability of carbon forms — through a national soil carbon network. Rationale: No single agency or institution is able to provide the level of information and data about soil carbon stocks, turnover, and vulnerability necessary to fully integrate soil processes and feedbacks into our models of the carbon cycle. Greater collaboration, synthesis, and shared effort is required to meet the challenge. The network is a grass roots effort to make it happen.

National Soil Carbon Network breakout Coordinate soil carbon observation, archiving, experimentation, and modeling. Understand the relationship between soil carbon and ecosystem services. Forecast soil carbon vulnerability under changing climate, land use, and other disturbance. Contribute to organizing and communicating this information for land managers, modelers, and policy makers. Provide a community voice to:

National Soil Carbon Network breakout Activities Organizational meeting: March 17-19, 2008 ― drafted Charter ― drafted description ― outlined short- and long-term activities CCSP SSG meeting presentation Session at AGU Toward Large Scale Assessments of Soil Carbon Vulnerability Website: Databases

National Soil Carbon Network breakout Breakout suggestions and work: Posted draft charter on NACP site comments integrated until March 17, then finalized Volunteers to prepare and submit NSF RCN Volunteers to prepare and submit AFRI REE-NET Discussion of jointly funded network coordinator Suggestion of discussion board on multiple topics to discuss methods, activities, etc. More ideas for databases and integration Integration between network and existing NACP soil carbon working group. Call for increase agency recognition of support needs. Meeting notes on NACP discussion site.