Tropical biogeochemistry of soils in the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes region

Tropical forests are hotspots of modern day land-use change and are, at the same time, among the largest terrestrial carbon reservoirs. In particular, the African continent will be facing huge environmental and societal challenges with projected changes in climate and population growth of 300 % by the end of this century. Despite their importance, tropical soils and ecosystems, particularly in Africa, are among the least studied in the world. Our lack of knowledge on the consequences of land-use change in the region on plant-soil interactions also limits our ability to predict future trajectories of tropical ecosystem services to mitigate climate change. Established observatories in the Congo Basin focus on questions related to biodiversity preservation and C storage in the biosphere, largely ignoring soils. In this SOIL Special Issue, we highlight research done in tropical Africa on plant-soil interactions, biogeochemistry and soil ecology across various natural and managed ecosystems, with an emphasis on the work conducted within the new research network “Congo Biogeochemistry Observatory” (CBO)