National Soil Organic Carbon Stocks Inventories under Different Mangrove Forest Types in Gabon

Gabonese’s estuary is an important coastal mangrove setting and soil plays a key role in mangrove carbon storage in mangrove forests. However, the spatial variation in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage remain unclear. To address this gap, determining the SOC spatial variation in Gabonese’s estuarine is essential for better understanding the global carbon cycle. The present study compared soil organic carbon between northern and southern sites in different mangrove forest, Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia germinans. The results showed that the mean SOC stocks at 1 m depth were 256.28 ± 127.29 MgC ha−1. Among the different regions, SOC in northern zone was significantly (p p < 0.001). The deeper layers contained higher SOC stocks (254.62 ± 128.09 MgC ha−1) than upper layers (55.42 ± 25.37 MgC ha−1). The study highlights that low deforestation rate have led to less CO2 (705.3 Mg CO2e ha−1 - 922.62 Mg CO2e ha−1) emissions than most sediment carbon-rich mangroves in the world. These results highlight the influence of soil texture and mangrove forest types on the mangrove SOC stocks. The first national comparison of soil organic carbon stocks between mangroves and upland tropical forests indicated SOC stocks were two times more in mangroves soils (51.21 ± 45.00 MgC ha−1) than primary (20.33 ± 12.7 MgC ha−1), savanna and cropland (21.71 ± 15.10 MgC ha−1). We find that mangroves in this study emit lower dioxide-carbon equivalent emissions. This study highlights the importance of national inventories of soil organic carbon and can be used as a baseline on the role of mangroves in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation but the variation in SOC stocks indicates the need for further national data.

Soil Organic Carbon Stock Variation under Different Soil Types and Land Uses in the Sub-Humid Noun Plain, Western Cameroon

This study was conducted to assess the current stock of soil organic carbon under different agricultural land uses, soil types and soil depths in the Noun plain in western Cameroon. Three sites were selected for the study, namely Mangoum, Makeka and Fossang, representative of the three dominant soil types of the noun plain (Andosols, Acrisols and Ferralsols). Three land uses were selected per site including natural vegetation, agroforest and crop field. Soil was sampled at three depths;0 - 20 cm, 20 - 40 cm, and 40 - 60 cm. Analysis of variance showed that soil type did not significantly influence carbon storage, but rather land uses and soil depth. SOCS decreased significantly with depth in all the sites, with an average stock of 66.3 ± 15.8 tC/ha at 0 - 20 cm, compared to an average stock of 33.3 ± 7.4 tC/ha at 40 - 60 cm. SOCS was significantly highest in the natural formation with 57.2 ± 19.7 tC/ha, and lowest in cultivated fields, at 37.7 ± 10.6 tC/ha. Andosols, with their high content of coarse fragments, stored less organic carbon than Ferralsols and Acrisols.

Soil Organic Carbon Stock and Soil Quality under Four Major Agroecosystems in the Eastern Flank of Mount Bambouto (West-Cameroon)

Assessing soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) and soil quality (SQ) helps design better agricultural practices to improve environmental sustainability and productivity. The purpose of the study is to assess SOCS and soil quality SQ in the main agroecosystems (AES) of the eastern flank of Mount Bambouto (West, Cameroon). Using multiple statistics tests and principal component analysis (PCA), SOCS and Soil Quality Index (SQI) were computed for each AES. SOCS and SQI were computed based on soil chemical properties and analysis of variance. Topsoil samples (0 - 30 cm) were collected in a different AES and analyzed in the laboratory. The four AES identified and selected are cultivated land (CL), forest areas (FA), mixed areas (MA), and bush areas (BA). Further, multiple comparison tests were used to compare soils from different AES. PCA was used to select the most appropriate indicators that control SOCS and SQ. Several soil properties showed high to very high coefficient of variation within the AES. Organic matter (OM) was significantly high in FA. SOCS and SQ differ significantly (p = 0.000) between the AES. The study further indicates that the main variables controlling SQ within the eastern flank of Mount Bambouto are OM, pHw, N, C/N, and CEC. While the main soil parameters controlling SOCS are OM, OC, BD, C/N, S, and pHKCl.

Does tree species composition control the soil carbon stocks of the Hyrcanian forest in the Northern Iran?(A case study in Guilan province,Iran)

This work studied the effects of tree species composition on soil carbon storage in five mixed stands dominated by oriental beech and grown in the western Caspian region in Guilan province, called Astara, Asalem, Fuman, Chere and Shenrud. The thickness of the litter layer, soil characteristics, tree composition and percentage of canopy coverage were measured in each stand. Total soil organic carbon differed significantly by stand. Total （organic） carbon stores at Fuman, which had the lowest tree species richness with 2 species and least canopy coverage （75%）, were significantly （p〈0.05） higher than at other locations. Carbon stor-age in topsoil （0-10 cm） was significantly lower in Shenrud, which had the highest tree species richness with 5 species and highest canopy cov-erage （95%）. The high percentage of canopy coverage in Shenrud proba-bly limited the conversion of litter to humus. However, in the second soil layer （10-25 cm）, Asalem, with high tree species richness and canopy coverage, had the highest carbon storage. This can be explained by the different rooting patterns of different tree species. In the Hyrcanian forest. According to the results, it can be concluded that not only tree composi-tion but also canopy coverage percentage should be taken under consid-eration to manage soil carbon retention and release.

Comparison on Soil Carbon Stocks Between Urban and Suburban Topsoil in Beijing, China

The urban population and urbanized land in China have both increased markedly since the 1980 s. Urban and suburban developments have grown at unprecedented rates with unknown consequences for ecosystem functions. In particular, the effect of rapid urbanization on the storage of soil carbon has not been studied extensively. In this study, we compared the soil carbon stocks of different land use types in Beijing Municipality. We collected 490 top-soil samples(top 20 cm) from urban and suburban sites within the Sixth Ring Road of Beijing, which cover approximately 2400 km2, and the densities of soil organic carbon(SOC), soil inorganic carbon(SIC), and total carbon(TC) were analyzed to determine the spatial distribution of urban and suburban soil carbon characteristics across seven land use types. The results revealed significant differences in soil carbon densities among land use types. Additionally, urban soil had significantly higher SOC and SIC densities than suburban soil did, and suburban shelterbelts and productive plantations had lower SIC densities than the other land use types. The comparison of coefficients of variance(CVs) showed that carbon content of urban topsoil had a lower variability than that of suburban topsoil. Further findings revealed that soil carbon storage increased with built-up age. Urban soil built up for more than 20 years had higher densities of SOC, SIC and TC than both urban soil with less than 10 years and suburban soil. Correlation analyses indicated the existence of a significantly negative correlation between the SOC, SIC, and TC densities of urban soil and the distance to the urban core, and the distance variable alone explained 23.3% of the variation of SIC density and 13.8% of the variation of TC density. These results indicate that SOC and SIC accumulate in the urban topsoil under green space as a result of the conversion of agricultural land to urban land due to the urbanization in Beijing.

Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Matter and Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Semi-Arid Area of Northeastern Syria

Although soil organic matter (SOM) forms a small portion of the soil body. Nevertheless, it is the most important component of the soil ecosystem, as well as of the carbon global cycle. In the semi-arid environment, there has been little research on the spatial distribution of SOM and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. In this study, stratified random samples of total 30 soils were collected from two different soil depth (topsoil, subsoil) of Al Balikh plain and used for mapping the spatial variability of SOC and to estimating the SOC stock. The result showed that the values were relatively homogenate, with the normal decreasing trend with increasing the depth. The standard deviation (Std. D) for both SOC and SOC stock indicates homogeneous and absence of outliers values, whereas the coefficient of variation (C.V) indicates non-dispersion and clustering of values around the average. SOC was 0.38%, 0.17% in topsoil and subsoil respectively;the corresponding averages of SOC stock were 1.23 kg·m-2? and 1.14 kg·m-2 respectively, these values reflecting typical characteristics of poor SOC semi-arid soil. The correlation between SOC and SOC stock was (R2 = 0.996, p 2 = 0.941, p < 0.001) for subsoil. The semivariograms were indicated that both SOC and SOC stock were best fitted to the exponential model. Nugget, range, and sill were equal to 0.002, 0.036, and 0.044, respectively for SOC in topsoil, and 0.014, 0.071, and 0.081, for SOC in the subsoil. For SOC stock, it was 0.0, 0.036, and 0.0508, respectively in topsoil. In the subsoil, the values were 0.1899, 0.086, and 4.159, respectively. SOC and SCO stock in both two layers are shown a strong spatial dependence, for which were 4.3, 17.2 for SOC in topsoil and subsoil respectively, and 0.0, 4.5 for SOC stock in topsoil and subsoil respectively, thus, which can be attributed to intrinsic factors.

Mapping Soil Organic Carbon Stocks of Northeastern China Using Expert Knowledge and GIS-based Methods

The main aim of this paper was to calculate soil organic carbon stock(SOCS) with consideration of the pedogenetic horizons using expert knowledge and GIS-based methods in northeastern China.A novel prediction process was presented and was referred to as model-then-calculate with respect to the variable thicknesses of soil horizons(MCV).The model-then-calculate with fixed-thickness(MCF),soil profile statistics(SPS),pedological professional knowledge-based(PKB) and vegetation type-based(Veg) methods were carried out for comparison.With respect to the similar pedological information,nine common layers from topsoil to bedrock were grouped in the MCV.Validation results suggested that the MCV method generated better performance than the other methods considered.For the comparison of polygon based approaches,the Veg method generated better accuracy than both SPS and PKB,as limited soil data were incorporated.Additional prediction of the pedogenetic horizons within MCV benefitted the regional SOCS estimation and provided information for future soil classification and understanding of soil functions.The intermediate product,that is,horizon thickness maps were fluctuant enough and reflected many details in space.The linear mixed model indicated that mean annual air temperature(MAAT) was the most important predictor for the SOCS simulation.The minimal residual of the linear mixed models was achieved in the vegetation type-based model,whereas the maximal residual was fitted in the soil type-based model.About 95% of SOCS could be found in Argosols,Cambosols and Isohumosols.The largest SOCS was found in the croplands with vegetation of Triticum aestivum L.,Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench,Glycine max(L.) Merr.,Zea mays L.and Setaria italica(L.) P.Beauv.

Study on the Carbon Stocks of Soils under Five Kinds of Plantations

Based on the field data and laboratory analysis,we studied the soil organic carbon storage and vertical distribution features about five kinds of plantations in Xuyi,and the results showed that soil carbon density in the five forest types changed greatly,with a range of 0. 8-3. 04 kg / m2 for five soil layers. Furthermore,soil carbon density decreased generally with the depth,as well as carbon content. In the whole soil profile,the range of carbon density in these five forests was from 4. 79 kg / m2 to 5. 62 kg / m2. However,60% carbon was concentrated in40 cm depth of soil. The calculated result of soil organic carbon reserve was as follows: Cupressus lusitanica( 50. 264 t / hm2),hackberry( 47. 859 t/hm2),Populus L.( 53. 216 t/hm2),Red bayberry( 49. 581 t/hm2),Amygdalus persica L.( 58. 202 t/hm2),with the average storage of 51. 824 t / hm2,lower than the national average level,so,people should pay attention to the artificial forest tending and management.According to the above analysis,this paper concluded that the afforestation was the effective measure for increasing the soil organic carbon accumulation,and the effects of planting the indigenous tree species Cupressus lusitanica and Amygdalus persica L. were best.

Soil Carbon Stocks Evolution in Organic Cotton-Based Cropping Systems in Southern and Northern Sudanese Agro-Ecological Zones of Burkina Faso

Variation of soil carbon stock in the cropping systems is an important indicator of their sustainability.The present study was conducted in 2015 and 2018 in seven organic cotton production areas distributed over the Southern and Northern Sudan agro-ecological zones in Burkina Faso.Soil samples were collected in 2015 as baseline and in 2018,after three years of cropping seasons,to determine the variations in carbon stocks in plots under organic farming systems.Surveys were also conducted to understand the fertilization practices implemented by producers during the same period.The results revealed that the recommended fertilization packages were not respected due to low production capacity and under using of organic manure.After three years of cropping in 2018,the deficit of organic restitution has led to a high decline of the soil carbon stocks.This decline was more severe in the 0-10 cm depth in some soils where the decrease in carbon stocks ranged from-4.6 t/ha to-5.5 t/ha.The correlation between soil types and their carbon stocks in the 0-10 cm soil layer was found to be significant(p<0.05)in the Northern Sudan agro-ecological zone with adjusted R2=74%and 54%in 2015 and 2018,respectively,and adjusted R2=56%(2015)and 44%(2018)in the Southern Sudan agro-ecological zone.After three years of organic cotton-based farming,a decrease in the correlation between soil types and their carbon content was observed in the majority of cases.These results show that the process of carbon storage in soil is more influenced by agricultural practices and agro-ecological conditions than by the soil type.

Disturbance Legacy on Soil Carbon Stocks and Stability within a Coastal Temperate Forest of Southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Although it has been recognized that soils play a critical role in carbon storage and that coastal temperate forests have considerable potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC), studies related to SOC stocks and stability are scarce in these ecosystems. Forest disturbances may leave legacies on SOC properties and may further compromise SOC storage capacity of these ecosystems. In the Pacific Spirit Regional Park of southwestern British Columbia, we compared SOC stocks and stability among three second-growth forests that have been affected by disturbances of different magnitudes. We collected data on soil chemical and physical properties to estimate SOC content and assess SOC stability. We found that SOC stocks in the forest characterized by low magnitude disturbance were greater than those of the forest characterized by high magnitude disturbance (8.2 ± 1.3 kg·Cm-2 versus 5.3 ± 0.1 kg·Cm-2 to 30 cm depth). SOC was less stable in the highly disturbed forest and subsequent vegetation changes might have further reduced SOC stability. Our results provide insight into the role of disturbance history in the current SOC storage capacity of coastal temperate rainforests of British Columbia.

Soil Carbon Stocks under Amazonian Forest:Distribution in the Soil Fractions and Vulnerability to Emission

Transformations of natural ecosystems in tropical regions, which are usually covered by high-biomass forests, contribute to increased atmospheric CO2. Much of the carbon in forest ecosystems is stored in the soil. This study estimates soil carbon stock in a dense forest in central Amazonia from sets of soil samples collected in three topographic positions (plateau, slope and valley bottom). Soil organic matter (SOM) was fractionated by density and particle size, thus obtaining the free light fraction (FLF), intra-aggregated light fraction (IALF), sand fraction (F-sand), clay fraction (F-clay) and silt fraction (F-silt). Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks on the plateaus (Oxisol), slopes (Ultisol) and valley bottoms (Spodosol) were 98.4 ± 7.8 Mg·ha-1, 72.6 ± 5.4 Mg·ha-1 and 81.4 ± 8.9 Mg·ha-1, respectively. Distribution of carbon in soil fractions was: 112.6 ± 15 Mg·ha-1 (FLF), 2.5 ± 0 Mg·ha-1 (ILAF), 40.5 ± 1.5 Mg·ha-1 (F-silt), 68.5 ± 4.2 Mg·ha-1 (F-clay) and 28.3 ± 1.4 Mg·ha-1 (F-sand), totaling 252.4 ± 22.1 Mg·ha-1 of carbon. Carbon is largely in labile form and near the soil surface, making it liable to release from deforestation or from climate change. Spodosols are more susceptible to soil carbon losses, demonstrating the need to preserve forested areas close to Amazonian rivers and streams.

Organic carbon stock in topsoil of Jiangsu Province, China, and the recent trend of carbon sequestration

Data collection of soil organic carbon(SOC) of 154 soil series of Jiangsu, China from the second provincial soil survey and of recent changes in SOC from a number of field pilot experiments across the province were collected. Statistical analysis of SOC contents and soil properties related to organic carbon storage were performed. The provincial total topsoil SOC stock was estimated to be 0 1 Pg with an extended pool of 0 4 Pg taking soil depth of 1 m, being relatively small compared to its total land area of 101700 km 2 One quarter of this topsoil stock was found in the soils of the Taihu Lake region that occupied 1/6 of the provincial arable area. Paddy soils accounted for over 50% of this stock in terms of SOC distribution among the soil types in the province. Experimental data from experimental farms widely distributed in the province showed that SOC storage increased consistently over the last 20 years despite a previously reported decreasing tendency during the period between 1950—1970 The evidence indicated that agricultural management practices such as irrigation, straw return and rotation of upland crops with rice or wheat crops contributed significantly to the increase in SOC storage. The annual carbon sequestration rate in the soils was in the range of 0 3—3 5 tC/(hm 2·a), depending on cropping systems and other agricultural practices. Thus, the agricultural production in the province, despite the high input, could serve as one of the practical methods to mitigate the increasing air CO 2

Spatial-temporal variations and driving factors of soil organic carbon in forest ecosystems of Northeast China

Forest soil carbon is a major carbon pool of terrestrial ecosystems,and accurate estimation of soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks in forest ecosystems is rather challenging.This study compared the prediction performance of three empirical model approaches namely,regression kriging(RK),multiple stepwise regression(MSR),random forest(RF),and boosted regression trees(BRT)to predict SOC stocks in Northeast China for 1990 and 2015.Furthermore,the spatial variation of SOC stocks and the main controlling environmental factors during the past 25 years were identified.A total of 82(in 1990)and 157(in 2015)topsoil(0–20 cm)samples with 12 environmental factors(soil property,climate,topography and biology)were selected for model construction.Randomly selected80%of the soil sample data were used to train the models and the other 20%data for model verification using mean absolute error,root mean square error,coefficient of determination and Lin's consistency correlation coefficient indices.We found BRT model as the best prediction model and it could explain 67%and 60%spatial variation of SOC stocks,in 1990,and 2015,respectively.Predicted maps of all models in both periods showed similar spatial distribution characteristics,with the lower SOC in northeast and higher SOC in southwest.Mean annual temperature and elevation were the key environmental factors influencing the spatial variation of SOC stock in both periods.SOC stocks were mainly stored under Cambosols,Gleyosols and Isohumosols,accounting for 95.6%(1990)and 95.9%(2015).Overall,SOC stocks increased by 471 Tg C during the past 25 years.Our study found that the BRT model employing common environmental factors was the most robust method for forest topsoil SOC stocks inventories.The spatial resolution of BRT model enabled us to pinpoint in which areas of Northeast China that new forest tree planting would be most effective for enhancing forest C stocks.Overall,our approach is likely to be useful in forestry management and ecological restoration at and beyond the regional scale.

Impact of rainfed and irrigated agriculture systems on soil carbon stock under different climate scenarios in the semi-arid region of Brazil

Understanding the dynamics of soil organic carbon(SOC) is of fundamental importance in land use and management, whether in the current researches or in future scenarios of agriculture systems considering climate change. In order to evaluate SOC stock of the three districts(Delmiro Gouveia, Pariconha, and Inhapi districts) in the semi-arid region of Brazil in rainfed and irrigated agriculture systems under different climate scenarios using the Century model, we obtained RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios derived from the Eta Regional Climate Model(Eta-Had GEM2-ES and Eta-MIROC5) from the National Institute for Space Research, and then input the data of bulk density, p H, soil texture, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and rainfall into the soil and climate files of the Century model. The results of this study showed that the Eta-Had GEM2-ES model was effective in estimating air temperature in the future period. In rainfed agriculture system, SOC stock under the baseline scenario was lower than that under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, while in irrigated agriculture system, SOC stock in the almost all climate scenarios(RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and models(Eta-Had GEM2-ES and Eta-MIROC5) will increase by 2100. The results of this study will help producers in the semi-arid region of Brazil adopt specific agriculture systems aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Soil Organic Carbon Stock as Affected by Land Use/Cover Changes in the Humid Region of Northern Iran

This study was conducted to determine the changes in the soil carbon stocks as influenced by land use in a humid zone of Deylaman district(10,876 ha), a mountainous region of northern Iran. For this, land use maps were produced from TM and ETM+ images for 1985, 2000 and 2010 years; and this was supplemented by field measurement of soil carbon in 2010. The results showed that the mean soil organic carbon(SOC) density was 6.7±1.8 kg C m-2, 5.2±3.4 kg C m-2 and 3.2±1.8 kg C m-2 for 0-20 cm soil layer and 4.8±1.9 kg C m-2, 3.1±2 kg C m-2 and 2.7±1.8 kg C m-2 for 20-40 cm soil layer in forest, rangeland and cultivated land, respectively. During the past 25 years, 14.4% of the forest area had been converted to rangeland; and 28.4% of rangelands had been converted to cultivated land. According to the historical land use changes in the study area, the highest loss of SOC stocks resulted from the conversion of the forest to rangeland(0.45×104 Mg C in 0-40 cm depth layer); and the conversion of rangeland to cultivated land(0.37×104 Mg C in 0-40 cm), which typically led to the loss of soil carbon in the area studied. The knowledge on the historical land use changes and its influence on overall SOC stocks could be helpful for making management decision for farmers and policy managers in the future, for enhancing the potential of C sequestration in northern Iran.

Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon Stock in the Upper Yangtze River Basin

Soil organic carbon is of great importance to terrestrial ecosystems.Studies on the amount and spatial distribution of soil organic carbon stock in various types of soil can help to better understand the role of soil in the global carbon cycle and provide a scientific basis for the assessment of the magnitude of carbon stored in a given area.Here we present estimates of soil organic carbon stock in soils in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River based on soil types as defined by Chinese Soil Taxonomy and recently compiled into a digital soil database.The results showed that the total soil organic carbon stock of the upper Yangtze River to a depth of 100 cm was 1.452×1013kg.The highest soil organic carbon stock was found in felty soils(2.419×1012kg),followed by dark brown soils(1.269×1012kg),and dark felty soils(1.139×1012kg).Chernozems and irrigation silting soils showed the lowest soil organic carbon stock,mainly due to the small total area of such soils.The soil organic carbon density of these major soil types ranged from 5.6 to 26.1 kg m-2.The average soil organic carbon density of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was 16.4 kg m-2,which was higher than that of the national average.Soil organic carbon density indicated a distinct decreasing trend from west to east,which corresponds to the pattern of increasing temperature from cold to subtropical.

Parkland trees on smallholder farms ameliorate soil physical-chemical properties in the semi-arid area of Tigray,Ethiopia

Proposed agroforestry options should begin with the species that farmers are most familiar with,which would be the native multipurpose trees that have evolved under smallholder farms and socioeconomic conditions.The African birch(Anogeissus leiocarpa(DC.)Guill.&Perr.)and pink jacaranda(Stereospermum kunthianum Cham.)trees are the dominant species in the agroforestry parkland system in the drylands of Tigray,Ethiopia.Smallholder farmers highly value these trees for their multifunctional uses including timber,firewood,charcoal,medicine,etc.These trees also could improve soil fertility.However,the amount of soil physical and chemical properties enhanced by the two species must be determined to maintain the sustainable conservation of the species in the parklands and to scale up to similar agroecological systems.Hence,we selected twelve isolated trees,six from each species that had similar dendrometric characteristics and were growing in similar environmental conditions.We divided the canopy cover of each tree into three radial distances:mid-canopy,canopy edge,and canopy gap(control).At each distance,we took soil samples from three different depths.We collected 216 soil samples(half disturbed and the other half undisturbed)from each canopy position and soil depth.Bulk density(BD),soil moisture content(SMC),soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN),available phosphorus(AP),available potassium(AK),p H,electrical conductivity(EC),and cation exchange capacity(CEC)were analysed.Results revealed that soil physical and chemical properties significantly improved except for soil texture and EC under both species,CEC under A.leiocarpus,and soil p H under S.kunthianum,all the studied soils were improved under both species canopy as compared with canopy gap.SMC,TN,AP,and AK under canopy of these trees were respectively 24.1%,11.1%,55.0%,and 9.3% higher than those soils under control.The two parkland agroforestry species significantly enhanced soil fertility near the canopy of topsoil through improving soil physical and chemical properties.These two species were recommended in the drylands with similar agro-ecological systems.

Above and below ground organic carbon stocks in a sub-tropical Pinus roxburghii Sargent forest of the Garhwal Himalayas

Accurate estimates of tree carbon, forest floor carbon and organic carbon in forest soils （SOC） are important in order to determine their contribution to global carbon （C） stocks. However, information about these carbon stocks is lacking. Some studies have investigated regional and continental scale patterns of carbon stocks in forest ecosystems; however, the changes in C storage in dif- ferent components （vegetation, forest floor and soil） as a function of elevation in forest ecosystems remain poorly understood. In this study, we estimate C stocks of vegetation, forest floor and soils of a Pinus roxburghii Sargent forest in the Garhwal Himalayas along a gradient to quantify changes in carbon stock due to differences in elevation at three sites. The biomass of the vegetation changes drastically with increasing elevation among the three sites. The above-ground biomass （AGB） and below-ground biomass （BGB） were highest at site I （184.46 and 46.386 t·ha^-1 respectively） at an elevation of 1300 m followed by site II （173.99 and 44.057 t·ha^-1 AGB and BGB respectively） at 1400 m and the lowest AGB and BGB were estimated at site III （161.72 and 41.301t·ha^-1） at 1500 m. The trend for SOC stock was similar to that of biomass. Our results suggest that carbon storage （in both soil and biomass） is nega- tively correlated with elevation.

Productivity, Leaf Nutrient Content and Soil Carbon Stocked in Agroforestry and Traditional Management of Maize (<i>Zea mays</i>L.)

The aim of the work was to evaluate the productivity, leaf nutrient content and soil nutrient concentration in maize (Zea mays L.) grown in sequence with black oats (Avena strigosa Schreb.) under Leucaena diversifolia alley cropping agroforestry system (AFS) and traditional management system/sole crop (without trees-TS), after two years of cultivation following a randomized block design. The experiment was carried out in the Brazilian Association of Biodynamic Agriculture, in Botucatu—S?o Paulo, Brazil. Treatments were: control (C), chemical fertilizer application (F), biomass of L. diversifolia alley cropping application (B), biomass of L. diversifolia alley cropping + chemical fertilizer application (B + F). In the second year of management it was observed that black oat yield was higher in treatments B + F and F with significant difference in relation to the others treatments in both systems, followed by treatment B. Between systems, only treatment B showed significant difference, with higher yield value corresponding to AFS, reflecting the efficiency of AFS to promote soil fertility. Maize production presented the second year of cultivation an increasing trend in all treatments in both production systems. This result may be due to the cumulative effect of mineralization and maize straw and oats, along the experiment. How productivity was higher in the AFS system, could also be occurring effect of biological nitrogen fixation, water retention and reduction of extreme microclimate through the rows of L. diversifolia. Comparing the AFS and TS, it was observed that the concentration of N in leaf tissue was higher in the AFS treatments, probably due to nitrogen fixation performed through the rows of L. diversifolia, that is a nitrogen fixing tree species. After two years, carbon stocked in soil show higher values in the treatments biomass + fertilizer and biomass application, in both systems, AFS and TS.

Tillage, <i>Desmodium intortum</i>, Fertilizer Rates for Carbon Stock, Soil Quality and Grain Yield in Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria soils are continuously and intensively cultivated, resulting in soil quality degradation, carbon stock depletion, accelerated soil erosion and soil nutrient depletion. Effects of land use change on soil carbon stocks (SOC) are of concern regarding greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and sustainable crop production, because there is a need for food sufficiency while conserving the environment. Also, managing soils under intensive use and restoring degraded soils are top priorities for a sustained agronomic production while conserving soil and water resources. Hence, this study;“Tillage, Desmodium intortum, fertilizer rates for carbon stock, soil quality and grain yield in Northern Guinea Savanna” is aimed at devising possible mitigating measures for soil quality degradation, carbon stock depletion and impoverished crop yields using Zea mays as test crop. The study was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in split-split plot arrangement with four replicates. The four main tillage and Desmodium intortum combination treatments were: 1) Maize &#8722;without Desmodium + Conventional tillage (MC), 2) Maize + Desmodium live-mulch incorporated and relayed + Conservation tillage (MDIC), 3) Maize + Desmodium in no-tillage system (MDNT), 4) Maize + Desmodium in strip tillage (MDST). The main treatment plots were each divided to accommodate four (4) rates of N (60, 80, 100 and 120 kg·ha&#8722;1) as sub plots, while the N rate plots were further divided to accommodate three (3) rates of P (6.6, 13.2, and 26.4 kg·ha&#8722;1) as sub-subplots. Findings support that Desmodium intercrops with Maize treatments (MDIC, MDNT, and MDST) resulted in increased organic carbon contents in 2013, with MDNT resulting in significantly higher organic carbon content (7.37 g·kg&#8722;1 in 2012 and 8.37 g·kg&#8722;1 in 2013) than the other treatments. Also, zero tillage practice (MDNT) sequestered significantly higher carbon stock (18.06 t C ha&#8722;1), followed by minimum tillage (MDIC) that sequestered 15.99 t C ha&#8722;1 than the other treatments. Highest grain yield of 2.61 tha&#8722;1 under MDIC and MDNT was followed by MDST and least under MC. Total score of soil quality assessment gave least score values of 13 under MDIC and MDNT;thus best soil quality (SQ1) was ascribed to the minimum tillage with D. intortum intercrop and relayed (MDIC) and Zero tillage with D. intortum (MDNT) treatments. Maize Strip cropped with D. intortum treatment (MDST) was ranked SQ2.