ORGANIC CARBON STOCKS IN ARABLE LAND OF REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

On the territory of Republic of Srpska (RS – Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), in the period 2014 - 2017, the fertility control of arable land was performed in 4125 average samples (taken from top soil, 0 - 30 cm) representing the surface area of 5776 ha. All samples were geo-positioned and linked to the SOTER database (soil and terrain databases). RS is divided into 262 SOTER units. In each soil sample humus was analysed (colorimetric method, wet burning with K2Cr2O7 and conc H2SO4). Soil organic carbon (SOC) was calculated from humus (% humus x factor 0.58). SOC stock (t ha-1) for each plot were calculated on the basis of the volume mass (mg m-3) of the soil type on which the plot was located, the soil weights up to 30 cm (kg ha-1) and the area of the plot (ha). SOC stock on 5776 ha of agricultural land was 225168 t ha-1. The analyzed area was represented by 24 types of soil (FAO class). The highest average SOC stocks of 130 t ha-1 (based on 31 samples) was found in Calacaric Cambisol and the lowest in Stagnic Luvisol 38 t ha-1 (based on 464 samples). In 84% of the tested samples, representing 89% of researched area, the SOC stocks were less than 57 t ha-1. Estimation of the SOC stocks on the total arable land was prepared by GIS analysis interpolation of the SOC results for 4125 samples on the agricultural land area (arable land, gardens, orchards, vineyards and meadows). Estimated SOC stocks on 578894 ha of arable land were 32833549 t. The result of this research is the first step towards the establishment of SOC monitoring system in RS.

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Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12111562 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 1562

Author(s):

Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė ◽

Povilas Žemaitis ◽

Kęstutis Armolaitis ◽

Vidas Stakėnas ◽

Gintautas Urbaitis

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Stand Age ◽

Soc Stock ◽

The Mean ◽

Soc Stocks ◽

Topsoil Layer

In the context of the specificity of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in afforested land, nutrient-poor Arenosols and nutrient-rich Luvisols after afforestation with coniferous and deciduous tree species were studied in comparison to the same soils of croplands and grasslands. This study analysed the changes in SOC stock up to 30 years after afforestation of agricultural land in Lithuania, representing the cool temperate moist climate region of Europe. The SOC stocks were evaluated by applying the paired-site design. The mean mass and SOC stocks of the forest floor in afforested Arenosols increased more than in Luvisols. Almost twice as much forest floor mass was observed in coniferous than in deciduous stands 2–3 decades after afforestation. The mean bulk density of fine (<2 mm) soil in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of croplands was higher than in afforested sites and grasslands. The clear decreasing trend in mean bulk density due to forest stand age with the lowest values in the 21–30-year-old stands was found in afforested Luvisols. In contrast, the SOC concentrations in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer, especially in Luvisols afforested with coniferous species, showed an increasing trend due to the influence of stand age. The mean SOC values in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of Arenosols and Luvisols during the 30 years after afforestation did not significantly differ from the adjacent croplands or grasslands. The mean SOC stock slightly increased with the forest stand age in Luvisols; however, the highest mean SOC stock was detected in the grasslands. In the Arenosols, there was higher SOC accumulation in the forest floor with increasing stand age than in the Luvisols, while the proportion of SOC stocks in mineral topsoil layers was similar and more comparable to grasslands. These findings suggest encouragement of afforestation of former agricultural land under the current climate and soil characteristics in the region, but the conversion of perennial grasslands to forest land should be done with caution.

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Changes in Organic Carbon Pool in Agricultural Soils and its Different Development in Individual Agro-Climatic Regions of Slovakia

Agriculture (Pol nohospodárstvo) ◽

10.2478/agri-2013-0002 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 9-20

Author(s):

Gabriela Barančíková ◽

Jarmila Makovníková ◽

Rastislav Skalský ◽

Zuzana Tarasovičová ◽

Martina Nováková ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Arable Land ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Climatic Regions ◽

Basic Parameters ◽

Rothc Model ◽

Soc Stock

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the basic parameters of soil productivity and quality. Generally soil has potential to sequestrate or release organic carbon depending on land use/management and climatic conditions. The main aim of this article is to show changes in SOC in agricultural land of Slovakia over almost the last 40 years on the basis of modelling data of SOC stock by the RothC model and unequal development of SOC stock on agro-climatic regions of Slovakia. The results received show that average SOC stock [t/ha] in Slovakia is higher on grasslands in comparison to arable land. However, total SOC pool (t) in top of 0.2 m of soil on the modelling area of agricultural Slovak land shows that a considerable part of SOC stock is located in arable land and is approximately four times greater than on grasslands because the arable land represents about 80% of the modelling area. In the first modelling period (1970-1994), the SOC stock gradually increased, but in the second modelling period (1995-2007) no significant changes in SOC stock on the arable land were observed. In the southwest part of Slovakia, increasing of SOC stock during all modelling periods was observed; however, in the northeast part a slight increase of SOC stock only in the first modelling period (1970-1994) was found and in the second modelling period (1995-2007) decrease of SOC accumulation was observed. The results of this statistical analysis show significant relationship between carbon input/SOC stock as independent variables and agro-climatic regions as dependent variable.

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Simulation of soil organic carbon changes in Slovak arable land and their environmental aspects

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/38/2011-swr ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 45-51

Author(s):

G. Barančíková ◽

J. Makovníková ◽

R. Skalský ◽

Z. Tarasovičová ◽

M. Nováková ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Arable Land ◽

Soil Protection ◽

Production Potential ◽

Soil Production ◽

Potential Index ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Soc Stocks

One of the key goals of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection is to maintain and improve soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. A decline of SOC stocks is politically perceived as a serious threat to soil quality and functions. A suitable tool for acquiring the information on SOC stock changes is modelling. The RothC-26.3 model was applied for long-term modelling (1970–2007) of the SOC stock in the topsoil of croplands of Slovakia. Simulation results show a gradual increase in the SOC stock in the first phase of modelling (1970–1995) mainly due to higher carbon input in the soil. A significant linear correlation (r = 0.4**, n = 275) was found between carbon input and the final simulation of SOC stock. A close relationship between the SOC stock and soil production potential index representing the official basis for soil quality assessment in Slovakia was also determined and a polynomial relationship was found which describes the relation at the 95% confidence level. We have concluded from the results that balanced or positive changes in the SOC stock dynamics that are important for sustainable use of soils could be influenced positively or negatively in Slovakia by political decisions concerning the soil management. Moreover, the soil production potential index can be used as soil quality information support for such decision-making.

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Achievements and challenges of the modelling of soil organic carbon in a highly variable Mediterranean area

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18914 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sergio Saia ◽

Calogero Schillaci ◽

Aldo Lipani ◽

Alessia Perego ◽

Marco Acutis

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Sampling Scheme ◽

Mediterranean Areas ◽

Sampling Campaign ◽

Soc Stock

Mediterranean areas are vulnerable and at high risk of desertification, although harboring high fractions of the global biodiversity. Resilience of these (agro)ecosystem strongly relies on soil preservation, and thus the reduction of both the sediment and soil organic carbon (SOC) losses. However, SOC dynamic is understudied in the Mediterranean areas, especially in the arid and semiarid regions [1].Here we are summarizing the known and unknown of the SOC modelling in a highly variable Mediterranean area, namely Sicily (southern Italy). In addition, we highlight main research needs to increase the reliability of the estimation of the SOC change in time.A total of 6674 soil samples were taken in various sampling campaigns from the 1993 to the 2008 from various depths (of which only 20% with soil bulk density [SBD] information) from both agricultural and forest lands on a 25,711-km2 area [2]. Such database was used for SOC modelling through various procedures including classification and regression trees (CARTs) and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) [3-5].Modelling SOC stock estimated with an already developed pedotransfer (R2 = 0,3) function for SBD consisted in a high uncertainty, with a ratio between the model mean absolute error and the modelled 90th percentile higher than 26.9%, suggesting that SBD information or its reliable prediction is a prerequisite for SOC stock modelling in these areas, especially in agricultural land. In addition, taking into account the sampling campaign almost doubled the r squared of the CART models, which on average outcompeted the kriging and LASSO methods for the prediction certainty.When modelling the time-variation of the SOC concentration through the use of non-paired samples [5], the closer of which was few km apart, a mean SOC variation was highlighted, and the model yielded high pseudo-R2 (0.63&#8211;0.69) and low uncertainty (s.d. < 0.76 g C kg&#8722;1). However, these s.d. can be used only to highlight strong variations at a relatively low resolution (i.e. 1-km), especially if data are not collected with the same sampling scheme. The variation found in the aforementioned work [5] likely depended on a change of both the sampling scheme and land use rather than an accumulation or loss of SOC in a given land use.Thus, measuring SOC concentration and SBD in time-paired sites appears as a prerequisite to detect a SOC change in a given land use, especially if taking into account that the most important SOC predictors throughout the experiments were rainfall and temperatures and climate change is likely to differentially affect each site. To overcome such a lack, a time paired-sampling was performed in 2017 in 30 sites in the arable land, providing evidence that the increases estimated from the 1993 to 2008 were not evident when resampling the 10% of the 1993&#8217;s sites in field with continuous arable land use.&#160;Reference: [1] Schillaci et al. DOI: 10.3301/ROL.2018.68; [2] Schillaci et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2018.12.015; [3] Veronesi and Schillaci DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.02.026; [4] Lombardo et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.12.011; [5] Schillaci et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.239

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Assessment on the rates and potentials of soil organic carbon sequestration in agricultural lands in Japan using a process-based model and spatially explicit land-use change inventories – Part 1: Historical trend and validation based on nation-wide soil monitoring

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-11-4429-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (16) ◽

pp. 4429-4442 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Y. Yagasaki ◽

Y. Shirato

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Paddy Fields ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Crop Fields ◽

Upland Crop ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Stock Change ◽

Soc Stocks

Abstract. In order to estimate a country-scale soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change in agricultural lands in Japan, while taking into account the effect of land-use changes, climate, different agricultural activities and the nature of soils, a spatially explicit model simulation system was developed using Rothamsted Carbon Model (RothC) with an integration of spatial and temporal inventories. Simulation was run from 1970 to 2008 with historical inventories. Simulated SOC stock was compared with observations in a nation-wide stationary monitoring program conducted during 1979–1998. Historical land-use change, characterized by a large decline in the area of paddy fields as well as a small but continuous decline in the area of orchards, occurred along with a relatively large increase in upland crop fields, unmanaged grasslands, and settlements (i.e. conversion of agricultural fields due to urbanization or abandoning). Results of the simulation on SOC stock change under varying land-use change indicated that land-use conversion from agricultural fields to settlements or other lands, as well as that from paddy fields to croplands have likely been an increasing source of CO2 emission, due to the reduction of organic carbon input to soils and the enhancement of SOC decomposition through transition of soil environment from anaerobic to aerobic conditions. The area-weighted mean concentrations of the simulated SOC stocks calculated for major soil groups under paddy fields and upland crop fields were comparable to those observed in the monitoring. Whereas in orchards, the simulated SOC stocks were underestimated. As the results of simulation indicated that SOC stock change under managed grasslands and settlements has been likely a major sink and source of CO2 emission at country-scale, respectively, validation of SOC stock change under these land-use types, which could not have been accomplished due to limited availability or a lack of measurement, remains a forthcoming challenge.

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Estimating soil organic carbon stocks of Swiss forest soils by robust external-drift kriging

Geoscientific Model Development ◽

10.5194/gmd-7-1197-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 1197-1210 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

M. Nussbaum ◽

A. Papritz ◽

A. Baltensweiler ◽

L. Walthert

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Likelihood Method ◽

Standard Errors ◽

Soil Profiles ◽

Near Infrared Reflectance ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Soc Stocks ◽

External Drift

Abstract. Accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are required to quantify carbon sources and sinks caused by land use change at national scale. This study presents a novel robust kriging method to precisely estimate regional and national mean SOC stocks, along with truthful standard errors. We used this new approach to estimate mean forest SOC stock for Switzerland and for its five main ecoregions. Using data of 1033 forest soil profiles, we modelled stocks of two compartments (0–30, 0–100 cm depth) of mineral soils. Log-normal regression models that accounted for correlation between SOC stocks and environmental covariates and residual (spatial) auto-correlation were fitted by a newly developed robust restricted maximum likelihood method, which is insensitive to outliers in the data. Precipitation, near-infrared reflectance, topographic and aggregated information of a soil and a geotechnical map were retained in the models. Both models showed weak but significant residual autocorrelation. The predictive power of the fitted models, evaluated by comparing predictions with independent data of 175 soil profiles, was moderate (robust R2 = 0.34 for SOC stock in 0–30 cm and R2 = 0.40 in 0–100 cm). Prediction standard errors (SE), validated by comparing point prediction intervals with data, proved to be conservative. Using the fitted models, we mapped forest SOC stock by robust external-drift point kriging at high resolution across Switzerland. Predicted mean stocks in 0–30 and 0–100 cm depth were equal to 7.99 kg m−2 (SE 0.15 kg m−2) and 12.58 kg m−2 (SE 0.24 kg m−2), respectively. Hence, topsoils store about 64% of SOC stocks down to 100 cm depth. Previous studies underestimated SOC stocks of topsoil slightly and those of subsoils strongly. The comparison further revealed that our estimates have substantially smaller SE than previous estimates.

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On the rebound: soil organic carbon stocks can bounce back to near forest levels when agroforests replace agriculture in southern India

SOIL Discussions ◽

10.5194/soild-2-871-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 871-902 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

H. C. Hombegowda ◽

O. van Straaten ◽

M. Köhler ◽

D. Hölscher

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Tree Species ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Clay Fraction ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Southern India ◽

Reference Plot ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Soc Stocks

Abstract. Tropical agroforestry has an enormous potential to sequester carbon while simultaneously producing agricultural yields and tree products. The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestered is however influenced by the type of the agroforestry system established, the soil and climatic conditions and management. In this regional scale study, we utilized a chronosequence approach to investigate how SOC stocks changed when the original forests are converted to agriculture, and then subsequently to four different agroforestry systems (AFSs): homegarden, coffee, coconut and mango. In total we established 224 plots in 56 plot clusters across four climate zones in southern India. Each plot cluster consisted of four plots: a natural forest reference plot, an agriculture reference and two of the same AFS types of two ages (30–60 years and > 60 years). The conversion of forest to agriculture resulted in a large loss the original SOC stock (50–61 %) in the top meter of soil depending on the climate zone. The establishment of homegarden and coffee AFSs on agriculture land caused SOC stocks to rebound to near forest levels, while in mango and coconut AFSs the SOC stock increased only slightly above the agriculture stock. The most important variable regulating SOC stocks and its changes was tree basal area, possibly indicative of organic matter inputs. Furthermore, climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation, and soil variables such as clay fraction and soil pH were likewise all important regulators of SOC and SOC stock changes. Lastly, we found a strong correlation between tree species diversity in homegarden and coffee AFSs and SOC stocks, highlighting possibilities to increase carbon stocks by proper tree species assemblies.

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Soil organic carbon stocks are systematically overestimated by misuse of the parameters bulk density and stone content

10.5194/soil-2016-78 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Poeplau ◽

Cora Vos ◽

Axel Don

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Bulk Density ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Future Studies ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Stocks ◽

Soc Stock ◽

The Mean ◽

Soc Stocks

Abstract. Estimation of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks requires estimates of the carbon content, bulk density, stone content and depth of a respective soil layer. However, different application of these parameters could introduce a considerable bias. Here, we explain why three out of four frequently applied methods overestimate SOC stocks. In stone rich soils (> 30 Vol. %), SOC stocks could be overestimated by more than 100 %, as revealed by using German Agricultural Soil Inventory data. Due to relatively low stone content, the mean systematic overestimation for German agricultural soils was 2.1–10.1 % for three different commonly used equations. The equation ensemble as re-formulated here might help to unify SOC stock determination and avoid overestimation in future studies.

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Application of RothC model to predict soil organic carbon stock on agricultural soils of Slovakia

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/23/2009-swr ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

G. Barančíková ◽

J. Halás ◽

M. Gutteková ◽

J. Makovníková ◽

M. Nováková ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Stock ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Plant Residues ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Stock ◽

Rothc Model ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Organic Carbon Stock

Soil organic matter (SOM) takes part in many environmental functions and, depending on the conditions, it can be a source or a sink of the greenhouse gases. Presently, the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock can arise because of the climatic changes or changes in the land use and land management. A promising method in the estimation of SOC changes is modelling, one of the most used models for the prediction of changes in soil organic carbon stock on agricultural land being the RothC model. Because of its simplicity and availability of the input data, RothC was used for testing the efficiency to predict the development of SOC stock during 35-year period on agricultural land of Slovakia. The received data show an increase of SOC stock during the first (20 years) phase and no significant changes in the course of the second part of modelling. The increase of SOC stock in the first phase can be explained by a high carbon input of plant residues and manure and a lower temperature in comparison with the second modelling part.

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Comparatives Study of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) under Forest, Cultivated and Barren Land: A Case of Chovar Village, Kathmandu

Nepal Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.3126/njst.v14i2.10422 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 103-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

S Bhandari ◽

S Bam

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Forest Soil ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Barren Land ◽

C Stocks ◽

Soc Stock ◽

Land Use And Management

The study was carried out in Chovar village of Kritipur Municipality, Kathmandu to compare the soil organic carbon (SOC) of three main land use types namely forest, agricultural and barren land and to show how land use and management are among the most important determinants of SOC stock. Stratified random sampling method was used for collecting soil samples. Walkley and Black method was applied for measuring SOC. Land use and soil depth both affected SOC stock significantly. Forest soil had higher SOC stock (98 t ha-1) as compared to agricultural land with 36.6 t ha-1 and barren land with 83.6 t ha-1. Similarly, the SOC in terms of CO22-1, 79.27 to 22.02 CO2-e ha-1 and 121.11 to 80.74 CO2-1 for 0- 20 cm to 40-60 cm soil depth, respectively. Bulk density (BD) was found less in forest soil compared to other lands at all depths, which showed negative correlation with SOC. The study showed a dire need to increase current soil C stocks which can be achieved through improvements in land use and management practices, particularly through conservation and restoration of degraded forests and soils. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v14i2.10422 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 14, No. 2 (2013) 103-108

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