Plaggic Anthrosols are anthropogenic soils formed by former plaggen agriculture in north-western continental Europe. Here, we present an inventory of organic carbon (OC) concentrations and stocks of Plaggic Anthrosols and of reference soils in the vicinity without plaggen fertilization history from eight sites in northwest Germany (Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia) and the eastern parts of The Netherlands (North Brabant, Overijssel). To evaluate the enrichment of Plaggic Anthrosols with OC and the implications for OC stocks, soils were analysed for basic soil properties (bulk density, pH, OC − and nitrogen (N) concentrations), texture, and acid oxalate-(Fe_OX) and dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate-extractable iron (Fe_DCB) concentrations. Organic C stocks and plant-available water capacity (PAWC) were calculated. The plaggic topsoils are characterized by high OC concentrations (6.5–36.9 mg g⁻¹) and a thickness of 53–124 cm, in contrast to the modern cultivated ∼30 cm thick topsoils of the reference soils with 10.6–24.0 mg g⁻¹ OC concentration. The plaggen agriculture formed a soil with improved properties and conditions for plant growth. The addition of plaggen material to the topsoils induced a volume increase as well as higher OC concentrations in the Ap horizons, resulting in significantly higher OC stocks in the Plaggic Anthrosols (6.3–14.5 kg m⁻²) compared to the reference soils (4.9–10.5 kg m⁻²). The additional soil volume amounted to 30–56% to the total soil profile depth (1.0 to 1.6 m) and comprised 25–62% of the total OC stocks. Compared to the reference soils, the volume increase of the plaggic topsoil increased the PAWC in the effective rooting zone by 1.6 to 3.4 times. Plaggic Anthrosols represent a relic of historical farming with preserved high OC concentrations and improved storage capacity for plant-available water, causing higher nutrient availability and an increase in yields, which in turn result in higher in-situ OM input, additionally contributing to high OC stocks. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of soil melioration practices similar to the former plaggen management to induce high OC concentrations and increase OC stocks in sandy agricultural soils.

Plagic Anthrosols 是由欧洲大陆西北部的前 plaggen 农业形成的人为土壤。在这里，我们展示了来自德国西北部（下萨克森州、北莱茵-威斯特法伦州）和德国东部的八个地点的有机碳 (OC) 浓度和 Plagic Anthrosols 以及附近没有 plaggen 施肥历史的参考土壤的清单。荷兰（北布拉班特，上艾瑟尔）。为了评估含 OC 的 Plaggic Anthrosols 的富集以及对 OC 种群的影响，分析了土壤的基本土壤特性（体积密度、pH、OC - 和氮 (N) 浓度）、质地和酸性草酸盐-（Fe _OX）和连二亚硫酸盐-柠檬酸盐-碳酸氢盐可萃取铁（Fe _DCB) 浓度。计算了有机碳库和植物可用水容量 (PAWC)。与现代栽培的 30 cm 厚的参考土壤表层土相比，现代耕作表土具有 10.6-24.0 mg g ^-1的高 OC 浓度（6.5-36.9 mg g ^-1）和 53-124 cm 的厚度OC 浓度。plaggen 农业形成了一种具有改善植物生长特性和条件的土壤。向表土中添加 plaggen 材料导致体积增加以及 Ap 层中 OC 浓度升高，导致 Plaggic Anthrosols 中的 OC 储量（6.3-14.5 kg m ^-2）显着高于参考土壤（4.9– 10.5 公斤米^-2）。额外的土壤体积占总土壤剖面深度（1.0 至 1.6 m）的 30-56%，占总有机碳库的 25-62%。与参考土壤相比，碎屑表土的体积增加使有效生根区的 PAWC 增加了 1.6 到 3.4 倍。Plaggic Anthrosols 代表了历史农业的遗迹，保留了高 OC 浓度，提高了植物可用水的储存能力，导致更高的养分利用率和产量增加，从而导致更高的原位 OM 输入，另外有助于高 OC股票。这项研究的结果表明，土壤改良措施与以前的原菌管理类似，具有在沙质农业土壤中诱导高 OC 浓度和增加 OC 储量的潜力。