Biogeosciences www.biogeosciences.net 1726-4170 1726-4189 5 5 2008 10.5194/bg-5-1339-2008 http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1339/2008/ http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1339/2008/bg-5-1339-2008.html http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/1339/2008/bg-5-1339-2008.pdf 1339 1350 2008-09-18 Centennial black carbon turnover observed in a Russian steppe soil K. Hammes M. S. Torn A. G. Lapenas M. W. I. Schmidt michael.schmidt@geo.uzh.ch University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Physical Geography, Soil Biogeochemistry Group, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Department of Geography and Planning, University at Albany, NY 12222, USA Black carbon (BC), from incomplete combustion of fuels and biomass, has been considered highly recalcitrant and a substantial sink for carbon dioxide. Recent studies have shown that BC can be degraded in soils. We use two soils with very low spatial variability sampled 100 years apart in a Russian steppe preserve to generate the first whole-profile estimate of BC stocks and turnover in the field. Quantities of fire residues in soil changed significantly over a century. Black carbon stock was 2.5 kg m^−2, or about 7–10% of total organic C in 1900. With cessation of biomass burning, BC stocks decreased 25% over a century, which translates into a centennial soil BC turnover (293 years best estimate; range 182–541 years), much faster than so-called inert or passive carbon in ecosystem models. The turnover time presented here is for loss by all processes, namely decomposition, leaching, and erosion, although the latter two were probably insignificant in this case. Notably, at both time points, the peak BC stock was below 30 cm, a depth interval, which is not typically accounted for. 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