A method of estimating the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks for a grassland based on the plant-derived SOC plus the dung-derived SOC minus the carbon lost through microbial maintenance respiration. The plant-derived SOC, dung-derived SOC, and microbial maintenance respiration are estimated by considering the effect of one or more of the lignin and cellulose content of the plant material, the estimated annual aboveground and belowground plant production, the grazing intensity, the number of fires per year, the mean annual rainfall, the belowground net primary production, and the soil texture. The method thus provides an allowance of plants to compensate for grazing without losing leaf area, and the diversion of carbon through grazing animals and into soil through the deposit of dung.
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