Assessment of Soil Carbon Stock and Soil Quality in Different Forest Stands and Management Regimes in Terai Region of Nepal.

Autor: Kandel D; Department of Soil and Watershed Management, Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal., Timilsina S; Department of Soil and Watershed Management, Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal., Ayer S; Department of Forest Biometrics, College of Natural Resource Management (CNRM), Agriculture and Forestry University, Katari 56310, Nepal., Chaudhary SK; Department of Soil, Forest Research and Training Centre (FRTC), Babarmahal, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal., Gautam J; Department of Forest Survey and Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Agriculture and Forestry University, Hetauda 44107, Nepal., Adhikari R; Department of Soil and Watershed Management, Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal., Bhatta KP; Department of Forest Research, Research and Development Centre, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientifica [Scientifica (Cairo)] 2024 Nov 15; Vol. 2024, pp. 1739115. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 15 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1155/2024/1739115
Abstrakt: Assessment of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and soil quality for informed forest management is hindered by inadequate data across different forest stand types and management regimes. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess SOC stock and soil quality in two forest stand types, i.e., Shorea robusta (Sal) forest and Terai mixed hardwood (TMH) forest, and selected forest management regimes (leasehold forest, community forest, government-managed forest, and forest area under protected area) in Terai region of Nepal. Stratified random sampling method was adopted for soil sample collection across terai region following Forest Resource Assessment, Nepal. Altogether, 62 composite soil samples from 30 cm depth were taken from the entire Terai region which included these two forest stand types and four management regimes. Different physical (soil texture and bulk density) and chemical (pH, SOC (%), total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium) properties were analyzed to calculate SOC stock and soil quality. Our result found no significant differences in SOC stock among two forest stand types ( p > 0.05). Unexpectedly, leasehold forest had significantly ( p < 0.05) higher SOC stock than other forest management regimes. In terms of soil quality, among two forest stand types, Sal forest (0.50) was found to be superior compared with TMH forest (0.46). Similarly, community forest had superior soil quality (0.50) than government-managed forest (0.47), protected area (0.47), and leasehold forest (0.45). A longitudinal study approach is recommended to observe changes in soil properties over time due to climate change and human activities, offering valuable insights into their dynamics.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Durga Kandel et al.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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