Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries
Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) were established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to test and promote a portfolio of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices that have climate change miti...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Climate |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/8/11/124 |
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| author | Gebermedihin Ambaw John W. Recha Abebe Nigussie Dawit Solomon Maren Radeny |
| author_facet | Gebermedihin Ambaw John W. Recha Abebe Nigussie Dawit Solomon Maren Radeny |
| author_sort | Gebermedihin Ambaw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) were established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to test and promote a portfolio of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices that have climate change mitigation potential. This study evaluated the soil carbon sequestration potential of these CSVs compared to the control land use that did not have CSA practices. At the one-meter depth, soil carbon stocks increased by 20–70%, 70–86%, and 51–110% in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda CSVs, respectively, compared to control. Consequently, CSVs contributed to the reduction of emissions by 87–420 Mg CO<sub>2</sub> eq ha<sup>−1</sup>. In the topsoil (0–15 cm), CSVs sequestered almost twice more soil carbon than the control and subsequently emissions were reduced by 42–158 Mg CO<sub>2</sub> eq ha<sup>−1</sup> under CSVs. The annual increase in carbon sequestration under CSVs ranged between 1.6 and 6.2 Mg C ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup> and substantially varied between the CSA land use types. The forests sequestered the highest soil carbon (5–6 Mg C ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>), followed by grasslands and croplands. The forest topsoil also had lower bulk density compared to the control. The findings suggest that CSA practices implemented through the CSVs approach contribute to climate change mitigation through soil carbon sequestration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:14:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dca1960296df4ad7bacc8f4eea206355 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-1154 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:14:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-dca1960296df4ad7bacc8f4eea2063552023-11-20T19:07:45ZengMDPI AGClimate2225-11542020-10-0181112410.3390/cli8110124Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African CountriesGebermedihin Ambaw0John W. Recha1Abebe Nigussie2Dawit Solomon3Maren Radeny4CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), PO Box 30709-00100 Nairobi, KenyaCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), PO Box 30709-00100 Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Natural Resources Management, Jimma University, PO Box 307 Jimma, EthiopiaCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), PO Box 30709-00100 Nairobi, KenyaCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), PO Box 30709-00100 Nairobi, KenyaClimate-Smart Villages (CSVs) were established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to test and promote a portfolio of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices that have climate change mitigation potential. This study evaluated the soil carbon sequestration potential of these CSVs compared to the control land use that did not have CSA practices. At the one-meter depth, soil carbon stocks increased by 20–70%, 70–86%, and 51–110% in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda CSVs, respectively, compared to control. Consequently, CSVs contributed to the reduction of emissions by 87–420 Mg CO<sub>2</sub> eq ha<sup>−1</sup>. In the topsoil (0–15 cm), CSVs sequestered almost twice more soil carbon than the control and subsequently emissions were reduced by 42–158 Mg CO<sub>2</sub> eq ha<sup>−1</sup> under CSVs. The annual increase in carbon sequestration under CSVs ranged between 1.6 and 6.2 Mg C ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup> and substantially varied between the CSA land use types. The forests sequestered the highest soil carbon (5–6 Mg C ha<sup>−1</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>), followed by grasslands and croplands. The forest topsoil also had lower bulk density compared to the control. The findings suggest that CSA practices implemented through the CSVs approach contribute to climate change mitigation through soil carbon sequestration.https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/8/11/124Climate-Smart Villagesclimate-smart agriculturecarbon sequestrationcroplandgrasslandagroforestry |
| spellingShingle | Gebermedihin Ambaw John W. Recha Abebe Nigussie Dawit Solomon Maren Radeny Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries Climate Climate-Smart Villages climate-smart agriculture carbon sequestration cropland grassland agroforestry |
| title | Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries |
| title_full | Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries |
| title_fullStr | Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries |
| title_short | Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential of Climate-Smart Villages in East African Countries |
| title_sort | soil carbon sequestration potential of climate smart villages in east african countries |
| topic | Climate-Smart Villages climate-smart agriculture carbon sequestration cropland grassland agroforestry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/8/11/124 |
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