Quantification of Soil Organic Carbon Stocks across Different Land Use Types, Soil Types and Agro-Ecological Zones in Murang’a County, Kenya
Journal Title: IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) - Year 2018, Vol 11, Issue 11
Abstract
Declining soil fertility causes substantial net losses of soil carbon resulting in increased carbon flux to the atmosphere; hence the need for sustained efforts for carbon sequestration through sustainable land management practices. The specific objectives of this study were to quantify soil organic carbon stocks at different soil depths across different land use types, soil types and agro-ecological zones in Murang’a County. The top soils were sampled at a depth of 0-30 cm while the sub-soils were sampled at 30-60 cm depth for evaluation of percentage organic carbon, bulk density, pH, and clay percentage. The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance to test for differences in soil organic carbon stocks in different soil types, land use types across different agro-ecological zones. The results showed that tea production systems had the highest stocks at 98.31 t C ha-1 and 81.74 t C ha-1 at top and sub-soils, respectively. The Andosols soil type had higher carbon stocks of 182.1 t C ha-1 compared to Nitisols which had 118.6 t C ha-1 . There were significant differences (p < 0.05) of stocks among the land use types across the agro-ecological zones with 180.1 t Cha-1 in upper highland, 117.2 t C ha-1 in lower highlands and 78.8 t C ha-1 in upper midlands. This suggests that there is low potential for smallholder farmers to accrue adequate soil carbon stock to engage in the carbon trading owing to the high transaction fees.
Authors and Affiliations
Ng‟ang‟a, L. W. , Letema S. , Thuo D. M. A.
Keywords
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- EP ID EP422065
- DOI 10.9790/2380-1111024854.
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