Soil carbon stock estimations: methods and a case study of the Maranhão State, Brazil

Soils feature significant variations in soil carbon stocks through land-use changes, management practices, and intrinsic characteristics. The aim of this study was to estimate the changes in soil carbon stock under different scenarios of land use and agricultural management in the Maranhão State, Br...

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Published in:Environment, development and sustainability development and sustainability, 2021-11, Vol.23 (11), p.16410-16427
Main Authors: Mendes, Telmo José, Siqueira, Diego Silva, de Figueiredo, Eduardo Barretto, Bordonal, Ricardo de Oliveira, Moitinho, Mara Regina, Marques Júnior, José, La Scala Jr, Newton
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Agricultural land
Agricultural management
Carbon
Carbon sequestration
Conversion
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Economic Geology
Economic Growth
Environment
Environmental Economics
Environmental Management
Farming systems
Forestry
Intensive farming
Land use
Land use management
Livestock
Management systems
Soils
Sustainable Development
Vegetation
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Summary:Soils feature significant variations in soil carbon stocks through land-use changes, management practices, and intrinsic characteristics. The aim of this study was to estimate the changes in soil carbon stock under different scenarios of land use and agricultural management in the Maranhão State, Brazil, considering the conversion from the conventional agriculture into conservationist management systems. Changes in soil carbon stocks were estimated from the scenario t0 to the current scenario (2010), followed by the adoption of a conservationist scenario by the year 2030. Soils under pasturelands presented the highest average of carbon stocks (62.19 Mg ha −1 ), followed by forestry lands (61.60 Mg ha −1 ) and agricultural lands (38.28 Mg ha −1 ). The conversion of native vegetation into an intensive agricultural use contributed to soil carbon losses of 1.57 Mt C, with pasturelands accounting for 1.36 Mt C and agricultural lands for 0.21 Mt C by 2010. The replacement of intensive agricultural systems into conservationist systems in the current areas has a technical potential for soil carbon sequestration of 0.6 Mt by 2030, with livestock and agricultural lands accounting for 0.54 and 0.03 Mt C, respectively.
ISSN:1387-585X
1573-2975
DOI:10.1007/s10668-021-01351-x