Abstract

VILLALBA ALGARIN, Carlos Alcides. Advancing towards climate-smart agriculture: the role of soil organic carbon in soil functions, ecosystem services, and agroecosystem sustainability. Investig. Agrar. [online]. 2025, vol.27, n.1, e2701825.  Epub June 27, 2025. ISSN 2305-0683.  https://doi.org/10.18004/investig.agrar.2025.2701825.

Current challenges, such as climate change and increasing pressure on primary food production, demand a transition toward more resilient and environmentally responsible agricultural models. In this context, the preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) emerges as a key strategy to enhance soil functions, support essential ecosystem services, and strengthen the resilience of agroecosystems. This review article aims to analyze and synthesize the role of SOC in soil functioning, its contribution to ecosystem service provision, its importance for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and to identify the most promising management strategies for its increase and stabilization in soils. The research was based on a comprehensive and descriptive bibliographic review of 43 review articles published between 2019 and 2024 in the Scopus database. The results demonstrate that maintaining and enhancing SOC is crucial for preserving the functional integrity of soils, supporting key ecosystem services, safeguarding food security, and mitigating the effects of climate change. Collectively, the findings underscore the need to promote management strategies focused on SOC regeneration as a central axis for building more resilient agroecosystems and advancing towards climate-smart agriculture.

Keywords : Human well-being; soil carbonization; sustainable production; planet health; soil health.

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