Water content and land use history controlling soil CO2 respiration and carbon stock in savanna soil and groundnut fields in semi-arid Senegal
Decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) regulates the partitioning between soil C-stock and release of CO 2 to the atmosphere and is vital for soil fertility. Agricultural expansion followed by decreasing amounts of SOC and soil fertility is a problem mainly seen in tropical agro-ecosystems where...
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Published in | Geografisk tidsskrift Vol. 103; no. 2; pp. 47 - 56 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
København
Taylor & Francis Group
01.01.2003
Kongelige danske geografiske selskab |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) regulates the partitioning between soil C-stock and release of CO
2
to the atmosphere and is vital for soil fertility. Agricultural expansion followed by decreasing amounts of SOC and soil fertility is a problem mainly seen in tropical agro-ecosystems where fertilizers are in short supply. This paper focuses on factors influencing temporal trends in soil respiration measured as CO
2
effluxes in grass savanna compared with groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) fields in the semi-arid part of Senegal in West Africa. Based on laboratory experiments, soil CO
2
production has been expressed as a function of temperature and soil water content by fit equations. Field measurements included soil CO
2
effluxes, soil temperatures and water contents. Effluxes in grass savanna and groundnut fields during the dry season were negligible, while effluxes during the rainy season were about 3-8 μmol CO
2
m
−2
s
−1
, decreasing to less than 1 μmol by the end of the growing season. Annual soil CO
2
production was simulated to be in the range of 31-38 mol C m
−2
. Furthermore, a controlled water addition experiment revealed the importance of rain during the dry season for the overall turnover of soil organic matter. |
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ISSN: | 0016-7223 1903-2471 |
DOI: | 10.1080/00167223.2003.10649491 |