The Rock-Eval® signature of soil organic carbon in arenosols of the Senegalese groundnut basin. How do agricultural practices matter?

(IF 5.57; Q1)International audienceSoil organic carbon (SOC) ensures soil quality and productivity of cultivated systems in the Sahelian region. This study uses Rock-Eval® pyrolysis to examine how cultural practices impact the quantity of SOC and quality of SOM in cultivated sandy soils in the Senegal groundnut basin. This cost-effective method provides information on SOC thermal stability, which has been shown to be related qualitatively to biogeochemical stability of SOC. We sampled soils within two villages in agricultural plots representative of local agricultural systems, and in two local preserved areas (tree plantation and shrubby savanna). SOC concentrations ranged from 1.8–18.5 g.kg−1 soil in the surface layer (0−10 cm) and from 1.5–11.3 g.kg−1 soil in the 10−30 cm layer. SOC contents of cultivated soils decreased significantly (p-value addition of manure > millet residues left after harvest > no organic input. We found that the quantity and the quality of SOC are linked, and that both depend on land-use and agricultural practices, especially upon the type of organic inputs. Quantity of SOC and quality of SOM are correlated strongly in the tree plantation (R² = 0.98) and in the protected shrubby savanna (R² = 0.97). They are also correlated significantly in cultivated soils receiving organic wastes (R² = 0.82), manure (R² from 0.74 and 0.91), or millet residues (R2 = 0.91) but not in soils that receive no organic inputs. Indexes based upon Rock-Eval® pyrolysis were represented in an I/R diagram that illustrates the level of SOC stabilization. The indexes of the studied soils were plotted against comparable results from literature. Thermal signatures of the Senegalese Arenosols show an inversion of I and the R indexes compared to data from the literature. This result highlights SOC stabilization as a function of soil depth. Indeed, the refractory pool in the studied soils (where refractory pool ranged from 7.7–21.3 % in the 0−10 cm layer, and from 12.5–24.3 % in the 10−30 cm) was more abundant than in Ferralsols in natural conditions, where refractory pool ranged from 2 to 9%. The soil organic matter in these Arenosols while positively affected by organic inputs, is dominated by more or less labile forms that mineralize quickly: a quality that is excellent for productivity of these agrosystems, but not for mitigation of climate change in the long term

Measuring the Stability of Soil Organic Carbon in Arenosols in the Senegalese Groundnut Basin

International audienceSoil organic carbon (SOC) contributes to agrosystem productivity. Understanding how farming practices implemented by smallholders affect the levels and distribution of SOC in carbon (C) pools with different stabilities is essential in sub-Saharan Arenosols where SOC mineralization is intense. The stability of SOC was studied by thermal (Therm-C), physical (particulate organic matter >50 μm, POM-C and fine soil fractions <50 μm, FF-C), chemical (permanganate-oxidizable carbon, POX-C) and biological (mineralizable C, Min-C) approaches. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0–10 and 10–30 cm in cultivated fields (out- or home-fields) without any input, with millet residues, amended with manure, or with household organic wastes. Globally, average SOC contents were low (<6 g C kg-1). The variability in SOC and C pool contents was sensitive to field management. The different approaches to measuring the stability of SOC did not measure the same fraction of SOC. POM-C and Therm-C were correlated and both explained Min-C similarly, thus suggesting that in these sandy soils, POM-C or Therm-C probably measured comparable properties of the stability of C. The lack of relationships between POX-C and other pools suggested that POX-C encompassed a different nature of SOC while providing complementary information on the biogeochemical stability of SOC

Estimates of carbon stocks in sandy soils cultivated under local management practices in Senegal’s groundnut basin

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for the productivity of agroecosystems and for mitigating climate change. Because the SOC contents of sandy soils are usually small, the effects of agricultural management upon SOC stocks in such soils have been insufficiently studied. In West sub-arid Africa, the coarse-textured soils (mostly Arenosols) are diversely managed by smallholders. In this study, we aimed to quantify SOC stocks in cultivated soils of that region, in a context where agricultural practices rely mainly upon organic inputs derived from various integrated crop-livestock systems. SOC stocks were estimated for the 0-30 cm depth in 1,813 plots in Senegal's groundnut basin. We found that SOC stocks in farmers' fields varied between 2.3 and 59.8 Mg C ha(-1) (mean +/- standard deviation, 14.6 +/- 0.14 Mg C ha(-1)). SOC stocks were influenced slightly by soil type, but were only weakly correlated to soils' clay and silt contents. SOC stocks differed significantly among the three studied village territories due to contrasting livestock-raising systems. Average stocks were significantly higher in plots close to housings (home-fields), which receive larger amounts of organic inputs, than in plots farther from the village (out-fields). Thus, the organic inputs to home-fields improves soil C stocks of these sandy soils in the short term. Innovative agricultural practices in the studied area probably need to target options for managing all fields optimally. Those options will require continuous application of organic products-a measure that will in turn require solutions for improving availability or management of local organic resources