Soil and Water Conservation Measures Improve Soil Microbial Activity and Carbon Sequestration: A Study on High Density Cashew in West Coast Region of India Mahajan G.R.*, Desai Sujeet, Manivannan S.1, Manjunath B.L.2, Verma R.R.3, Das Bappa, Murgaokar Dayesh, Desai Ashwini S., Morajkar Shaiesh, Kulkarni Rahul M. Natural Resource Management Section, ICAR – Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Old Goa, 403402, Goa, India 1ICAR – Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Regional Station, Udhagamandalam, 643004, Tamil Nadu, India 2Division of Fruit Crops, ICAR – Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta, 560089, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India 3Division of Crop Production, ICAR – Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, 226002, Uttar Pradesh, India *Corresponding author (Email: gopal.soil@gmail.com)
Online published on 2 April, 2022. Abstract A 13-years study was conducted from 2001 to 2013 to assess the effect of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures on soil microbial activity and carbon sequestration under high density (4 m × 4 m) cashew nut on 19% sloping land in the west coast region of India. Five SWC measures namely, continuous contour trenches + vegetative barrier (CCT+VB), staggered contour trenches + vegetative barrier (SCT+VB), crescent shape trench + vegetative barrier (CST+VB), vegetative barrier (VB), and control with no SWC measures were evaluated. The CCT+VB showed the best performance with significantly higher soil organic carbon (SOC) (1.41 to 2.02%) and SOC stock (SOCS) (44.9–57.8 Mg C ha−1) compared to control up to a depth of 0–0.9 m. The same treatment had significantly higher SOC sequestration rate (SOCSR) of 1.5 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 with significantly (p<0.05) lower SOCSR (0.9 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). Compared to other SWC measures and control, the highest average soil microbial biomass carbon (33.9 mg kg−1) and lowest metabolic quotient (qCO2) (0.52 mg CO2-C g−1 h−1) was obtained in CCT+VB indicating better soil biological activity and alleviation of environmental stress on microbes. The study indicated that SWC measures in cashew could be adopted as a strategy to improve microbial activity and soil carbon sequestration alongside advantages of reduced soil loss, runoff, and nutrient loss. Top Keywords Carbon sequestration, Climate change, Climate resilient technologies, Land degradation. Top |