Global priority areas for protecting soil carbon (C) under intense cumulative human footprint (HFP), a major driver of global change, remain largely unexplored, as does the global soil C response to HFP. Using an archetyping-informed approach, we map the main ‘Anthrocarbonscapes’, spatially recurring landscape configurations formed by coalescing soil organic carbon (SOC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC), and HFP data on a global scale to represent distinct states of the coupled soil C-human system. We then cluster the archetype outputs and use them to assess associations between soil C and HFP. Our results show that soil C is predominantly negatively correlated with HFP globally and for most Anthrocarbonscapes. Notably, more than a tenth of landscapes dominated by intensive agriculture (e.g., grazing activity, cultivation) and urban land use exhibit a stronger aggregated negative correlation than areas with lower human activity and greater wildland coverage. These regions, therefore, warrant urgent attention for soil C stewardship. Together, our results suggest that increasing HFP may lead to unexpected soil C losses under inadequate management. Therefore, more holistic and tailored strategies are required to manage soil C in a human-impacted world.

NDIYE Kebonye;  PANAGOS Panos;  SCHOLTEN Thomas; 

2026-08-14

ELSEVIER B.V.

JRC143150

2665-9727 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972726003363,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143150,   

10.1016/j.indic.2026.101447 (online),