Soil organic matter (SOM) is a highly reactive constituent of the soil matrix. This volume of Advances in Soil Sciences explains pedological processes caused by increases in SOM content of depleted and degraded soils and demonstrates the link between soil organic matter stock and provisioning critical ecosystem services for nature and humans.

Rattan Lal, PhD, is Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Iceland and IARI, New Delhi. He was President of the WASWAC (1987-1990), ISTRO (1988-1991), SSSA (2006-2008), and the IUSS (2017-2018). He researches soil C sequestration, conservation agriculture, soil health, soil erosion and C dynamics, soil structure, eco-intensification, soil restoration, and soils of the tropics. He has authored 1,020 journal articles, authored/edited more than 100 books, mentored 370 researchers, has h-index of 163, and total citations of 120,719. In a Stanford study (Ioannidis et al. 2019, 2020), he is ranked #111 globally among world's top 2% of scientists, and #1 among scientists in Agronomy & Agriculture. Reuter Thompson ranked him #391 among the top 1000 climatologists. He holds IICA's Chair in Soil Science and Goodwill Ambassador in Sustainable Development. He is a member of the 2021 U.N. Food System Summit Science Committee and Action Track 3. He received the 2018 GCHERA World Agriculture Prize, 2018 Glinka World Soil Prize, 2019 Japan Prize, 2019 IFFCO Award, 2020 Arrell Global Food Innovation Award, the 2020 World Food Prize, and the 2021 Padma Shri Award, India.

1. Is there evidence for significant tillage-induced soil organic C sequestration below the plow layer? 2. Managing Soil Organic Carbon for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security 3. Soil management, organic matter, and human nutrition 4. Building Bridges between Natural Nutrient Sources and Fertilizers for Soil Health and Sustainable Food Security 5. Soil Organic Matter and Nutrient Availability 6. Soil Organic Matter and Microorganisms in Management Systems for Food and Feedstock Production 7. Carbon sequestration in Productive Land Use Systems in the Peruvian Amazon 8. Soil Organic Matter stocks and content - Critical Policy Issues? 9. Modelling Soil Organic Carbon: Implications for Soil Organic Matter Management in the Indian Himalayan Region 10. Managing Soil Organic Matter under Dryland Farming Systems for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustaining Agriculture Productivity 11. Managing Soil Organic Matter for Alleviating Drought Stress in Dryland Farming in North American Great Plains 12. Advances in Soil Health 13. Soil organic carbon sequestration and turnover in semi-arid tropics and subtropics in relation to agronomic yield and sustainability