Organic and inorganic soil carbon in a semi-arid rangeland is primarily related to abiotic factors and not livestock grazing

•Landscape scale fence-line comparisons indicate no influence of livestock grazing on soil C.•Soil properties and climate were more strongly related to soil C than vegetation.•Soil inorganic C exceeded organic C in parts of the soil-climate gradient.•It may be difficult to increase soil C storage through livestock management in semi-arid systems.