• Login
    View Item 
    •   NM-AIST Home
    • Materials, Energy, Water and Environmental Sciences
    • Research Articles
    • View Item
    •   NM-AIST Home
    • Materials, Energy, Water and Environmental Sciences
    • Research Articles
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Evaluating Soil Carbon as a Proxy for Erosion Risk in the Spatio-Temporal Complex Hydropower Catchment in Upper Pangani, Northern Tanzania

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Full text (2.565Mb)
    Date
    2021-10-15
    Author
    Amasi, Aloyce
    Wynants, Maarten
    Kawala, Remigius
    Sawe, Shovi
    Blake, William
    Mtei, Kelvin
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Land use conversion is generally accompanied by large changes in soil organic carbon (SOC). SOC influences soil erodibility through its broad control on aggregate stability, soil structure and infiltration capacity. However, soil erodibility is also influenced by soil properties, clay mineral ogy and other human activities. This study aimed to evaluate soil organic carbon as proxy of soil erosion risk in the Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM) catchment in Northern Tanzania. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was measured by an AgroCares scanner from which the soil organic matter (SOM) was derived using the conversional van Bemmelen factor of 1.72. A regression analysis performed between the measured loss on ignition (LOI) values and SOM from the AgroScanner showed a strong positive correlation in all land use classes (LOIFL R 2 = 0.85, r = 0.93, p < 0.0001; LOICL R 2 = 0.86, r = 0.93, p = 0.0001; LOIGL R 2 = 0.68, r = 0.83, p = 0.003; LOIBS R 2 = 0.88, r = 0.94, p = 0.0001; LOIBL R 2 = 0.83, r = 0.91, p = 0.0002). This indicates that SOC from the soil scanner provided a good representation of the actual SOM present in soils. The study also revealed significant differences in the soil aggregate stability (WSA) and SOM stock between the different land use types in the Upper Pangani Basin. The WSA decreases approximately in the following order: grassland > forest land > bare land > cultivated > bush land. Land use change can thus potentially increase the susceptibility of soil to erosion risk when SOC is reduced. Since WSA was directly related to SOM, the study indicates that, where formal measurements are limited, this simple and inexpensive aggregate stability test can be used by farmers to monitor changes in their soils after management changes and to tentatively assess SOC and soil health.
    URI
    https://doi.org/10.3390/earth2040045
    https://dspace.nm-aist.ac.tz/handle/20.500.12479/1674
    Collections
    • Research Articles

    Nelson Mandela-AIST copyright © 2021  DuraSpace
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All PublicationsCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Nelson Mandela-AIST copyright © 2021  DuraSpace
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV