Amazon Soil Carbon — The Missing Credit

Posted by Ted Feldpausch

27 March 2026

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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 resilience: unlike aboveground biomass, whose carbon loss rises 50% under triennial fire regimes (from 40% to 60%), soil carbon is statistically resilient to fire frequency.
• 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.

Read the full policy brief below:

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