Changes in Soil Carbon Storage Potential Following Conversion from Afromontane Forest to Plantations and Cultivated Land in Komto Watershed, Western Ethiopia

Birhanu Iticha

Abstract


Forest ecosystem takes the lion share of soil C store compared to other land use systems. The study was aimed to examine the influence of land use change on soil C sequestration potential under varying soil layers. Heterogeneity in soil C storage was observed across land use types and along soil layers due to disparity in spatial distribution of soil C densities arising from the influences of variations in land cover types and management practices. The average soil C stock varied from 14.16 Mg ha-1 for the cultivated land to 35.24 Mg ha-1 for the natural forest, and 21.48 Mg ha-1 for of plantation forest to a depth of 60 cm. The average soil C loss rate after 25 years period of conversion from Afromontane forest to plantations and cultivated land were estimated to be 0.55 and 0.84 Mg ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Encroachment of native forests coupled with unwise agricultural management practices contributed to SOC depletion and subsequent CO2 emission. Integrated land use systems that combine trees and agricultural crops can increase C sequestration potential while giving multiple products for the land users.

Keywords: Land use change, Afromontane forest, soil carbon storage, soil carbon loss, climate change


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ISSN (Paper)2224-3216 ISSN (Online)2225-0948

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