Soil contains a large amount of organic carbon. Temperature rises caused by warming activate microbial degradation of organic materials in soil, which increases carbon release and may lead to further warming. Such global carbon movement is called the “carbon cycle”, and study of it is helpful in predicting the future of the global environment.

FNCA Climate Change Science Project promotes the use of isotope-based approaches to improve our understanding of the carbon cycling, particularly in the Asian region. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), the collaborator of this project, prepared “Practical guide on soil sampling, treatment, and carbon isotope analysis for carbon cycle studies”, which covers practical methods such as soil sampling, treatment and preparation, and measurements by the use of isotope ratio mass spectrometry and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).

This guide is available at the following link;

JAEA-Technology 2020-012
https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-technology-2020-012