Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia)
<p>This study evaluates the impact of land use and topographic features (slope and aspect) on soil organic carbon (SOC) within the Wadi Beja watershed in north-western Tunisia. A soil spectral library was set up to assess the variation in the SOC for 1440 soil samples from four land use types...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2019-09-01
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| Series: | SOIL |
| Online Access: | https://www.soil-journal.net/5/239/2019/soil-5-239-2019.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828760675687596032 |
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| author | D. Jendoubi D. Jendoubi H. Liniger C. Ifejika Speranza |
| author_facet | D. Jendoubi D. Jendoubi H. Liniger C. Ifejika Speranza |
| author_sort | D. Jendoubi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>This study evaluates the impact of land use and topographic
features (slope and aspect) on soil organic carbon (SOC) within the Wadi
Beja watershed in north-western Tunisia. A soil spectral library was set up
to assess the variation in the SOC for 1440 soil samples from four land use
types (field crops, permanent crops, forest, and grazing land), three slope
categories (flat, moderate, and steep) and two aspects (north- and
south-facing). For field crops, only one factor – slope – significantly
affected SOC, with SOC content in north-facing areas appearing to be higher
in flat areas (0.75 %) than in hilly areas (0.51 %). However, in
south-facing areas, SOC content was also higher in flat areas (0.74 %)
than in hilly areas (0.50 %). For permanent crops, which were
inter-planted with field crops, the slope significantly affected SOC
content, which improved to 0.97 % in flat north-facing and 0.96 % in
flat south-facing areas, scoring higher than hilly south- and north-facing
areas (0.79 %). In the grazing land use system, both of the investigated
factors – aspect and slope – significantly affected the SOC content, which
was significantly higher in flat areas (north-facing: 0.84 %,
south-facing: 0.77 %) than in hilly areas (north-facing: 0.61 %,
south-facing: 0.56 %). For the forest, none of the factors had a
significant effect on SOC content, which was higher in flat areas
(north-facing: 1.15 %, south-facing: 1.14 %) than in steep areas
(1.09 % in north-facing areas and 1.07 % in south-facing areas). This
study highlights the ability of visible and near-infrared (VNIR)
spectroscopy to quantify C in diverse soils collected over a large diverse
geographic area in order to indicate that calibrations are feasible, and
therefore, assessing the variation of SOC content under land use and
topographic features (slope and aspect) will result in better sustainable
land management planning.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:17:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3b525bc86dc3418d9156a9d479a24e4a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2199-3971 2199-398X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:17:29Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SOIL |
| spelling | doaj.art-3b525bc86dc3418d9156a9d479a24e4a2022-12-22T01:25:50ZengCopernicus PublicationsSOIL2199-39712199-398X2019-09-01523925110.5194/soil-5-239-2019Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia)D. Jendoubi0D. Jendoubi1H. Liniger2C. Ifejika Speranza3Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Bern, 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, SwitzerlandCentre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Bern, 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland<p>This study evaluates the impact of land use and topographic features (slope and aspect) on soil organic carbon (SOC) within the Wadi Beja watershed in north-western Tunisia. A soil spectral library was set up to assess the variation in the SOC for 1440 soil samples from four land use types (field crops, permanent crops, forest, and grazing land), three slope categories (flat, moderate, and steep) and two aspects (north- and south-facing). For field crops, only one factor – slope – significantly affected SOC, with SOC content in north-facing areas appearing to be higher in flat areas (0.75 %) than in hilly areas (0.51 %). However, in south-facing areas, SOC content was also higher in flat areas (0.74 %) than in hilly areas (0.50 %). For permanent crops, which were inter-planted with field crops, the slope significantly affected SOC content, which improved to 0.97 % in flat north-facing and 0.96 % in flat south-facing areas, scoring higher than hilly south- and north-facing areas (0.79 %). In the grazing land use system, both of the investigated factors – aspect and slope – significantly affected the SOC content, which was significantly higher in flat areas (north-facing: 0.84 %, south-facing: 0.77 %) than in hilly areas (north-facing: 0.61 %, south-facing: 0.56 %). For the forest, none of the factors had a significant effect on SOC content, which was higher in flat areas (north-facing: 1.15 %, south-facing: 1.14 %) than in steep areas (1.09 % in north-facing areas and 1.07 % in south-facing areas). This study highlights the ability of visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy to quantify C in diverse soils collected over a large diverse geographic area in order to indicate that calibrations are feasible, and therefore, assessing the variation of SOC content under land use and topographic features (slope and aspect) will result in better sustainable land management planning.</p>https://www.soil-journal.net/5/239/2019/soil-5-239-2019.pdf |
| spellingShingle | D. Jendoubi D. Jendoubi H. Liniger C. Ifejika Speranza Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) SOIL |
| title | Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) |
| title_full | Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) |
| title_short | Impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a Mediterranean landscape (north-western Tunisia) |
| title_sort | impacts of land use and topography on soil organic carbon in a mediterranean landscape north western tunisia |
| url | https://www.soil-journal.net/5/239/2019/soil-5-239-2019.pdf |
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