Carbon losses and soil property changes in ferralic Nitisols from Cuba under different coverages

Authors

  • Alberto Hernández-Jiménez National Institute of Agricultural Sciences
  • Dania Vargas-Blandino National Institute of Agricultural Sciences
  • José Irán Bojórquez-Serrano Autonomous University of Nayarit; Academic Unit of Agriculture
  • Juan Diego García-Paredes Autonomous University of Nayarit; Academic Unit of Agriculture
  • Alberto Madueño-Molina Autonomous University of Nayarit; Academic Unit of Agriculture
  • Marisol Morales-Díaz Institute for Fundamental Researches on Tropical Agriculture

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-992x-2016-0117

Keywords:

degradation, carbon reserves, physical properties, tropical soils

Abstract

The transformation of primary forestlands into lands under cultivation exerts an impact on the physical and chemical properties of the soils, leading to loss of carbon from the soil. The aims of this study were (1) to estimate the impact of different land use on organic carbon stock (OC-stock) and (2) to determine the clay percentage, the dispersion factor, and bulk density with regard to soil management. Thirty soil profiles were sampled as follows: four under primary forests with 80-100 years (old growth); two under secondary wood forests with 45-50 years; eight under secondary young forests with 15-25 years; four under pasture land with 15-20 years; and 12 under continuous cultivation for >; 50 years. We determined the changes in OC-stock in the soils under different land-use conditions in relation to the primary forest variant. There was a difference in the OC-stock of the continuous cultivation variant compared to the remaining land-use variants for all soil-thickness layers. The greatest loss of cultivated soil was in the 0-20 cm layer of the primary forest OC-stock. In the 50-100 cm layer, the OC-stock of the cultivated soils diminished significantly. As regards physical properties, such as clay percentage, dispersion factor, and bulk density, we observed significant differences between the cultivated soils compared to the remaining land-use variants.

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Published

2017-08-01

Issue

Section

Soils and Plant Nutrition

How to Cite

Carbon losses and soil property changes in ferralic Nitisols from Cuba under different coverages. (2017). Scientia Agricola, 74(4), 311-316. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-992x-2016-0117