TITLE:
Soil Organic Carbon Stock Variation under Different Soil Types and Land Uses in the Sub-Humid Noun Plain, Western Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Frank Abigail Sobze Kenfack, Georges Kogge Kome, Achille Bienvenue Ibrahim, Viviane Pauline Mandah, Dieudonne Bitondo
KEYWORDS:
Carbon Stocks, Soil Type, Soil Depth, Agricultural Land Use, Noun Plain
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Soil Science,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
9,
2024
ABSTRACT: 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.