Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas
Despite agroforestry has large potential for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, limited information is available on SOC pools and deep SOC sequestration as affected by agroforestry systems. Potential of long-term (15 years) agroforestry systems to store SOC was assessed in the foot hills of th...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| author | Swarnashree Barman Ranjan Bhattacharyya Charan Singh A. C. Rathore Vibha Singhal D. R. Biswas Nayan Ahmed Shrila Das Sandeep Kumar S. L. Jat T. K. Das Soora Naresh Kumar Avijit Ghosh Fazal Ullah Hosam O. Elansary Muhammad Nazim Muhammad Nazim Adil A. Fickak Mohamed A. Rashwan Ihab Mohamed Moussa |
| author_facet | Swarnashree Barman Ranjan Bhattacharyya Charan Singh A. C. Rathore Vibha Singhal D. R. Biswas Nayan Ahmed Shrila Das Sandeep Kumar S. L. Jat T. K. Das Soora Naresh Kumar Avijit Ghosh Fazal Ullah Hosam O. Elansary Muhammad Nazim Muhammad Nazim Adil A. Fickak Mohamed A. Rashwan Ihab Mohamed Moussa |
| author_sort | Swarnashree Barman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite agroforestry has large potential for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, limited information is available on SOC pools and deep SOC sequestration as affected by agroforestry systems. Potential of long-term (15 years) agroforestry systems to store SOC was assessed in the foot hills of the north western Indian Himalayas. The study was carried out during 2009–2023 and soil samples were taken from four depths, viz. 0–15, 15–30, 30–45, 45–60 cm in Bhimal (Grewia optiva L.) and Mulberry (Morus alba L.) based agroforestry system under cowpea-toria based cropping systems and turmeric as ground storey crop. Results showed that in surface soil (0–15 cm), plots with mulberry + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)-toria (Brassica campestris L.) (T7) had maximum C stock (21.35 Mg C ha−1) which was similar to mulberry + turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) (T6) plots. In deep soil layer (30–60 cm), plots under T7 had 33.52 Mg C ha-1 which was significantly higher than farmers’ practice cowpea-toria (T4). The results revealed that M. alba L. based agroforestry practices had 33%, 18% and 8% higher labile C concentration than (cultivated fallow land) (T9), T5 and T4 plots, respectively, in 0–15 cm soil depth. Recalcitrant C was maximum in T7 (4.49 g kg−1) plots. In the 0–30 cm layer, C accumulation rate ranged from 0.27 Mg C ha−1yr−1 to 0.99 Mg C ha−1y−1. Maximum C accumulation was found in T7 plots which was 160% and 135% higher than the farmers’ practise T4 plots and sole mulberry plantation (T5) plots. In the surface soil (0–15 cm), the treatment T7 had approximately 33% higher carbon management index (CMI) value compared with the farmers’ practise T4 plots. Thus, adopting M. alba L. based agroforestry practices has great potential for improving higher carbon stock in deep soil layer and can be recommended for sustainable management practices in the region, and it also could be considered as a strategy to restore degraded land, which is vital for food security, livelihood enhancement, and overall preserving the environmental services. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2916ba41ac7c4de8a420ec899b4408dc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-665X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-2916ba41ac7c4de8a420ec899b4408dc2025-08-20T03:25:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-06-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.15685641568564Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian HimalayasSwarnashree Barman0Ranjan Bhattacharyya1Charan Singh2A. C. Rathore3Vibha Singhal4D. R. Biswas5Nayan Ahmed6Shrila Das7Sandeep Kumar8S. L. Jat9T. K. Das10Soora Naresh Kumar11Avijit Ghosh12Fazal Ullah13Hosam O. Elansary14Muhammad Nazim15Muhammad Nazim16Adil A. Fickak17Mohamed A. Rashwan18Ihab Mohamed Moussa19Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Conservation, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, IndiaDivision of Soil Conservation, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, IndiaDivision of Soil Conservation, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Crop Production, ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDivision of Grassland and Silvipasture Management, ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaCollege of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, ChinaPlant Production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, ChinaDepartment of Soil Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia0Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDespite agroforestry has large potential for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, limited information is available on SOC pools and deep SOC sequestration as affected by agroforestry systems. Potential of long-term (15 years) agroforestry systems to store SOC was assessed in the foot hills of the north western Indian Himalayas. The study was carried out during 2009–2023 and soil samples were taken from four depths, viz. 0–15, 15–30, 30–45, 45–60 cm in Bhimal (Grewia optiva L.) and Mulberry (Morus alba L.) based agroforestry system under cowpea-toria based cropping systems and turmeric as ground storey crop. Results showed that in surface soil (0–15 cm), plots with mulberry + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)-toria (Brassica campestris L.) (T7) had maximum C stock (21.35 Mg C ha−1) which was similar to mulberry + turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) (T6) plots. In deep soil layer (30–60 cm), plots under T7 had 33.52 Mg C ha-1 which was significantly higher than farmers’ practice cowpea-toria (T4). The results revealed that M. alba L. based agroforestry practices had 33%, 18% and 8% higher labile C concentration than (cultivated fallow land) (T9), T5 and T4 plots, respectively, in 0–15 cm soil depth. Recalcitrant C was maximum in T7 (4.49 g kg−1) plots. In the 0–30 cm layer, C accumulation rate ranged from 0.27 Mg C ha−1yr−1 to 0.99 Mg C ha−1y−1. Maximum C accumulation was found in T7 plots which was 160% and 135% higher than the farmers’ practise T4 plots and sole mulberry plantation (T5) plots. In the surface soil (0–15 cm), the treatment T7 had approximately 33% higher carbon management index (CMI) value compared with the farmers’ practise T4 plots. Thus, adopting M. alba L. based agroforestry practices has great potential for improving higher carbon stock in deep soil layer and can be recommended for sustainable management practices in the region, and it also could be considered as a strategy to restore degraded land, which is vital for food security, livelihood enhancement, and overall preserving the environmental services.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1568564/fullagroforestrycarbon stocktotal soil organic carbon (SOC)bulk densityC accumulation rate |
| spellingShingle | Swarnashree Barman Ranjan Bhattacharyya Charan Singh A. C. Rathore Vibha Singhal D. R. Biswas Nayan Ahmed Shrila Das Sandeep Kumar S. L. Jat T. K. Das Soora Naresh Kumar Avijit Ghosh Fazal Ullah Hosam O. Elansary Muhammad Nazim Muhammad Nazim Adil A. Fickak Mohamed A. Rashwan Ihab Mohamed Moussa Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas Frontiers in Environmental Science agroforestry carbon stock total soil organic carbon (SOC) bulk density C accumulation rate |
| title | Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas |
| title_full | Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas |
| title_fullStr | Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas |
| title_short | Long-term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the Indian Himalayas |
| title_sort | long term agroforestry enhances soil organic carbon pools and deep soil carbon sequestration in the indian himalayas |
| topic | agroforestry carbon stock total soil organic carbon (SOC) bulk density C accumulation rate |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1568564/full |
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