Spatial Variations of Organic and Inorganic Carbon Stocks in Some Forest and Rangeland Soils of Northern Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant professor of Horticulture Crop Research Department, Kordestan agricultural and natural resources research and education center, AREEO, Sanandaj, Iran

2 Professor of Soil Science Department,University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Spatial variability of soil organic carbon in different land uses could be effective in interpreting and simulating the behavior of ecosystems in encountering the climate and environmental changes. The hilly lands of the study area are unique ecosystem with particular importance due to the effect of slope in creating microclimates with different vegetation. The spatial variability of soil organic and inorganic carbon contents and storages were studied at various depths. The effects of land use, parent material, topographical properties and some of soil characteristics on soil organic and inorganic carbon contents and storages were investigated in 56 soil pedons. In average, the highest (SOC=196.6 Mg/ha, SIC=88.2 Mg/ha) and lowest (SOC=59.9 Mg/ha, SIC=11.3 Mg/ha) storage contents of soil organic and inorganic carbon were found in Mollisols and Entisols, accordingly. The highest average total carbon storage also was found in Mollisols (284.9 Mg/ha) while the lowest was in Entisols (71.2 Mg/ha). Increasing soil inorganic carbon with increasing soil organic carbon indicates that inorganic carbon originates from soil organic carbon. In forestland, most amounts of soil organic carbon stocks are located in surface horizons, in fresh and semi-decomposed forms and in combination with silt fractions. Therefore, forest soils are more fragile in response to the changes in management rather than rangelands that contain most of their organic carbon stocks in subsurface horizons and in combination with clay fractions.

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Main Subjects


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