Spatial prediction of soil organic carbon stocks in Ghana using legacy data

•Climatic factors strongly influence the spatial variability of SOC stocks in Ghana.•Spatially explicit mapping of SOC stocks.•Uncertainty map of SOC stocks prediction.•About 5.4 Tg of SOC stocks is stored in the top 0–30 cm of the soils in Ghana.•The study is relevant for future monitoring of soil conditions in Ghana.