Carbon Sequestration Potential of Natural Sandalwood Forest in Southern Western Ghats, India Kalaiselvi B.*, Dharumarajan S., Lalitha M., Vasundhara R., Srinivasan R., Karthika K.S., Hegde Rajendra, Rameshan1, Kumar K.S. Anil, Prasad Jagdish2, Maddileti N., Chakraborty Ranabir ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre, Bangalore, 560024, Karnataka, India 1Conservation and Ecology, Indian High Range Mountain Landscape Project, Munnar, 685612, Kerala, India 2ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, 440 033, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author (Email: kalaimitra15@gmail.com)
Online Published on 16 January, 2024. Abstract Reliable estimation of soil carbon sequestration potential (CSP) is a prerequisite for carbon (C) management practices and climate-resilient sustainable agriculture. In the present study, the CSP of natural sandalwood forest, tea plantation and cropland soils were assessed by applying Hassink’s C saturation-deficit concept. Organic C associated with clay+silt fractions was estimated that ranged from 32 to 53% of total organic carbon (TOC). The C saturation potential ranged from 16 and 24.3 mg C g-1 soil, but did not show any significant differences among the land uses. The current C saturation (Ccur) associated with clay+silt particle sizes ranged from 19.9 to 24.3, 16.9 to 22.2 and 15.95 to 23.5 mg g-1 for tea plantation, sandalwood forest and agricultural lands, respectively. The cumulative CSP of top 100 cm soils was found high in agricultural lands (189-262 Mg C ha-1), followed by sandalwood forest lands (56-116 Mg C ha-1) and tea plantations (83.3 Mg C ha-1). This study demonstrates that croplands are an effective option to achieve high C saturation potential as they are highly C deficient, allowing C emission to be controlled. Paramount attention must be given to C stabilization in the finer soil fractions. Adopting agroforestry systems in croplands could increase the C sequestration through above and below ground biomass deposition. Albeit the small data size and lack of validation, the present study can provide a baseline idea about the CSP of different land uses in Western Ghats, India. Top Keywords Carbon management, Land use, Soil carbon saturation potential, Current carbon stock, Soil carbon sequestration potential. Top |