Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Different Land Uses at Puthupet, Tamil Nadu, India

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks were assessed in different land uses i.e., Cocos nucifera, Anacardium occidentale, Mangifera indica, Casuarina equisetifolia plantations, wasteland and natural forest at Puthupet, Tamil Nadu, India using Walkley and Black’s method. The soil bulk density was found to increase significantly (P< 0.05) with the increase in soil depth in all the sites except natural forest. Highest bulk density was recorded in wasteland and the least was from the forest, which could be due to the compaction of soil. In natural forest, soil is loose due to fine root mats, microbial and other arthropod activities which help in the aeration resulting in low bulk density. The highest percentage of SOC was recorded in the natural forest. This may be because natural forests are undisturbed ecosystems with large litter inputs, high microbial activities and decomposition leading to accumulation of more humus in soil, whereas other land uses receive low litter inputs. The casuarina plantation is a young one and litter in coconut plantation is utilized by stakeholders, which reasons for low detritus input. Soil organic carbon and soil organic matter (SOM) showed a positive correlation with tree density and tree basal area, while they showed a negative correlation with soil bulk density. The present study reveals that the maintenance of tree population for long-term would increase the SOC concentration. Cite this ArticleSM. Sundarapandian, S. Amritha, L. Gowsalya et al. Soil organic carbon stocks in different land uses at Puthupet, Tamilnadu, India. Journal of Ecology. 2015; 4(3): 6–14p.