Rapid Carbon Assessment (RaCA)

The Rapid Carbon Assessment (RaCA) was initiated by the USDA-NRCS Soil Science Division in 2010 with the following objectives: To develop statistically reliable quantitative estimates of amounts and distribution of carbon stocks for U.S. soils under various land covers and to the extent possible, differing agricultural management. To provide data to support model simulations of soil carbon change related to land use change, agricultural management, conservation practices, and climate change. To provide a scientifically and statistically defensible inventory of soil carbon stocks for the U.S. To accomplish these objectives, 144,833 samples were collected from the upper 1 meter of 32,084 soil profiles at 6,017 randomly selected locations for measurement of organic and inorganic carbon by visible and near infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy and bulk density by traditional methods. NRI sites were used as the basis for random selection of sample sites stratified by soil group within RaCA Region and land use/land cover (LULC) within soil group. Soil morphology and landscape characteristics were described at each site and limited vegetation and agricultural management information was collected from each location. Sample collection and analysis involved more than 300 soil scientists and assistance from 24 universities. Dowloadable Data Tables: RaCA samples (CSV; 41.1 MB) RaCA general location (CSV; 145 KB) RaCA SOC pedons (CSV; 796 KB) RaCA data columns (CSV; 7 KB) RaCA download (ZIP; 336 MB) Maps - Soil Organic Carbon Stocks: Rapid Carbon Assessment Values Using SSURGO and NLCD Grids (PDF; 7.72 MB) Geometric Means for Each RaCA Region (PDF; 2.82 MB) Values for Each RaCA Site (PDF; 5.11 MB) Resources in this dataset: Resource Title: Website Pointer to Rapid Carbon Assessment (RaCA). File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/research/?cid=nrcs142p2_054164 Includes Introduction, Methodology and Sampling, Data Tables, Maps, Cooperators, Related Data and Information.