Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration under Different Land Use Systems

The Soil organic carbon stocks under the five dominant cropping system/land use of Tumkur district of Karnataka were studied. Soil pedons were excavated in typical areas of the land use systems for detailed study. Organic matter content of each pedon calculated to a depth of one meter was used for interpolating the carbon stock for unit area under each land use system. Study showed that forest land use systems had highest level of carbon in fine earth. Among the annual crop production systems, soils under Ragi recorded more fine earth carbon as well as total carbon stock. The relatively low organic carbon of soils under annual crops was attributed to low net productivity with removal far exceeding the inputs. Coconut plantation system had highest fine earth carbon as well as total stocks of organic carbon. The total organic carbon stock per square meter to a depth of one meter under different land use/cropping system followed the order Coconut > Ragi > Rice > Ground nut > Forest. This preliminary study will be useful for further research in more accurate estimation of Soil Organic Carbon stocks and increase the efficiency of Carbon sequestration in soils of tropical regions.