Long-term nutrient management can alter soil carbon pools and nitrogen availability, with implications for soil fertility and sustainability. This study evaluated carbon pools and nitrogen fractions in a long-term field experiment established in 2012-2013 on a Vertisol under rainfed conditions at the Organic Farming Research Institute, Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India. Post-harvest soil samples were collected after maize in a maize–chickpea cropping system at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths. Four production systems were compared: 100% nitrogen through organic sources, integrated nitrogen management (50% N through organics and 50% through inorganic fertilizers), 100% recommended NPK through inorganic fertilizers, and recommended package of practices (RPP; recommended NPK plus farmyard manure at 7.5 t ha-1). Various soil carbon pools were examined, including total and inorganic carbon, permanganate oxidizable carbon, microbial biomass carbon and four oxidizable carbon fractions: very labile, labile, less labile and non-labile carbon. At 0-15 cm, total carbon was highest under the organic system (21.02 g kg⁻¹), followed by integrated management (18.92 g kg⁻¹), RPP (16.80 g kg⁻¹) and inorganic (15.90 g kg⁻¹). Organic management also recorded the highest POXC (0.336 g kg⁻¹), MBC (0.299 g kg⁻¹), very labile C (2.62 g kg⁻¹), labile C (1.72 g kg⁻¹), less labile C (2.63 g kg⁻¹) and non-labile C (17.78 g kg⁻¹). In contrast, RPP recorded the highest surface ammonical N (31.59 mg kg⁻¹), nitrate N (15.92 mg kg⁻¹), organic N (626.93 mg kg⁻¹) and total N (674.44 mg kg⁻¹), with integrated management generally ranking second for the major N pools