Amazon Soil Carbon — The Missing Credit

—

by

Ted Feldpausch
in , ,

Amazon Soil Carbon: Policy Brief Summary

The conversion of forest to agriculture in the Amazon triggers a “deforestation multiplier”: the ecosystem loses carbon equivalent to about 115% (1.15×) of the original forest’s aboveground biomass. Current carbon-credit standards such as Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) focus on standing timber, yet new evidence highlights the significant, unprotected carbon stocks remaining in the soil of burned forests.

Key technical findings

  • The deforestation multiplier: agricultural conversion eliminates 100% of aboveground carbon and triggers an additional 38% loss of soil carbon.
  • Soil and vegetation carbon are decoupled under fire: soil carbon loss was statistically equivalent across burn frequencies (−16% annual vs −19% triennial), while aboveground carbon loss rose from 40% to 60%. The soil pool registers degradation that aboveground monitoring alone can miss, and vice versa.
  • Carbon gradient: intact forest soils hold 50.5 Mg C ha−1, burned forests retain approximately 42 Mg C ha−1, and agricultural land drops to 31.4 Mg C ha−1.
  • The policy gap: burned forests store 36% more soil carbon than agricultural land, yet they currently receive no financial recognition or protection. The gap matters most where degradation leaves little aboveground signal — in selectively logged or repeatedly burned forest, soil carbon can be the material difference in a project’s carbon balance, and measured soil baselines give it a conservative, verifiable foundation.

Read the full policy brief below:

Amazon soil carbon policy brief (PDF)Download

Companion brief

This brief pairs with Andean Soil Carbon — The Deep Pool, Still Uncredited, which shows how much carbon Colombian Andean forest soils hold and why its fire-derived fraction is unusually durable. Together they cover both sides of the question: what disturbance takes from the soil, and what stays behind.

Reference:

Naval, M. L. M., Bieluczyk, W., Alvarez, F., Carvalho, L. C. da S., Maracahipes-Santos, L., Oliveira, E. A. de, Silva, K. G. da, Pereira, M. B., Brando, P. M., Marimon Junior, B. H., Camargo, P. B. de, & Feldpausch, T. R. (2025). Impacts of repeated forest fires and agriculture on soil organic matter and health in southern Amazonia. CATENA, 254, 108924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108924