Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal
Understanding the role of soil carbon (C) dynamics and quantitative changes as affected by various land use patterns is very critical given the significance of carbon sequestration. In this context, the current study was conducted in the Lal Bakaiya watershed in Makawanpur District, Nepal, to assess...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hindawi Limited
2023-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Forestry Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/9356474 |
| _version_ | 1797687814352011264 |
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| author | Pramod Ghimire Uchita Lamichhane Sandesh Bolakhe Chun-Hung Jeb Lee |
| author_facet | Pramod Ghimire Uchita Lamichhane Sandesh Bolakhe Chun-Hung Jeb Lee |
| author_sort | Pramod Ghimire |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the role of soil carbon (C) dynamics and quantitative changes as affected by various land use patterns is very critical given the significance of carbon sequestration. In this context, the current study was conducted in the Lal Bakaiya watershed in Makawanpur District, Nepal, to assess the variation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks in three different land use types, namely, natural forest, grassland, and cultivated land. Incremental soil depths method (i.e., 0–15 cm, 16–30 cm, and 31–45 cm) was applied to collect soil samples in bulk from each of the land use under the study to estimate SOC and N stocks in laboratory. A total of 90 soil samples were collected from three soil layers down the soil profile up to 45 cm for each land uses. The results show that both SOC and N contents decreased with soil depths; however, substantial amount of SOC and N stocks were reported in lower soil depths under land use with natural forest. Both SOC and N contents were found relatively higher at 0–15 cm depth in natural forest soil (1.40 ± 0.20% and 0.26 ± 0.04%) than those in grassland and cultivated land, respectively. The mean total SOC stock and N stock ranged from 46.3 ± 4.24 t ha−1 and 7.11 ± 1.86 t ha−1 in cultivated land to 62.05 ± 9.17 t ha−1 and 11.40 ± 1.92 t ha−1 in the land use with natural forest, respectively. Furthermore, the mean total carbon and nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) of the soil was found to be higher in cultivated land (7.07 ± 1.93) than that in natural forest (5.75 ± 1.47) and grassland (5.62 ± 1.49), respectively. Two-way analysis of variance results showed that both land use type and soil depth have significantly (p<0.05) affected the SOC and N stocks in the study. From the results, it is suggested that well-managed land use can contribute significantly in offsetting global carbon emission. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:22:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d5477293b584417afecb114619e57d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1687-9376 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:22:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Hindawi Limited |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Forestry Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d5477293b584417afecb114619e57d52023-09-13T00:00:01ZengHindawi LimitedInternational Journal of Forestry Research1687-93762023-01-01202310.1155/2023/9356474Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central NepalPramod Ghimire0Uchita Lamichhane1Sandesh Bolakhe2Chun-Hung Jeb Lee3Agriculture and Forestry UniversityCollege of Natural Resource ManagementAgriculture and Forestry UniversityNational Dong Hwa UniversityUnderstanding the role of soil carbon (C) dynamics and quantitative changes as affected by various land use patterns is very critical given the significance of carbon sequestration. In this context, the current study was conducted in the Lal Bakaiya watershed in Makawanpur District, Nepal, to assess the variation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks in three different land use types, namely, natural forest, grassland, and cultivated land. Incremental soil depths method (i.e., 0–15 cm, 16–30 cm, and 31–45 cm) was applied to collect soil samples in bulk from each of the land use under the study to estimate SOC and N stocks in laboratory. A total of 90 soil samples were collected from three soil layers down the soil profile up to 45 cm for each land uses. The results show that both SOC and N contents decreased with soil depths; however, substantial amount of SOC and N stocks were reported in lower soil depths under land use with natural forest. Both SOC and N contents were found relatively higher at 0–15 cm depth in natural forest soil (1.40 ± 0.20% and 0.26 ± 0.04%) than those in grassland and cultivated land, respectively. The mean total SOC stock and N stock ranged from 46.3 ± 4.24 t ha−1 and 7.11 ± 1.86 t ha−1 in cultivated land to 62.05 ± 9.17 t ha−1 and 11.40 ± 1.92 t ha−1 in the land use with natural forest, respectively. Furthermore, the mean total carbon and nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) of the soil was found to be higher in cultivated land (7.07 ± 1.93) than that in natural forest (5.75 ± 1.47) and grassland (5.62 ± 1.49), respectively. Two-way analysis of variance results showed that both land use type and soil depth have significantly (p<0.05) affected the SOC and N stocks in the study. From the results, it is suggested that well-managed land use can contribute significantly in offsetting global carbon emission.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/9356474 |
| spellingShingle | Pramod Ghimire Uchita Lamichhane Sandesh Bolakhe Chun-Hung Jeb Lee Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal International Journal of Forestry Research |
| title | Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal |
| title_full | Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal |
| title_short | Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks: A Study from the Lal Bakaiya Watershed in Central Nepal |
| title_sort | impact of land use types on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks a study from the lal bakaiya watershed in central nepal |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/9356474 |
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