Abstract
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important indicator of soil quality; an elevated percentage of SOC indicates very high-quality soil, physically as well as chemically. As such, the principal objective of the present study was to determine the concentration of SOC at different depths, as well as its accumulation through the entire soil profile. The Carrizal-Chone system (SCCH) area was stratified by agricultural use. Sixty-three soil samples were taken from different depths of up to a maximum of 150 cm. The physical and chemical properties of the soil were determined. SOC was determined by the Walkley and Black method. The following results are highlighted: (1) 21 different varieties of soil management were identified; (2) the largest area was livestock grazing land, which had the greatest concentration of SOC; (3) the type of soil with the greatest SOC sequestration capacity was silty clay loam; (4) the area cultivated with corn presented the highest accumulation of total carbon; and (5) the highest concentration of SOC was found in the top 40 cm, with a tendency to decrease with depth. It is concluded that soil management influences the concentration and accumulation of SOC in the topsoil layers and the entire soil profile.
Highlights
Sustainable agroecosystems tend to balance land exploitation for human needs such as food, fiber, and wood with the long-term conservation of natural resources
Global carbon balance is maintained when plant growth creates the ideal conditions for the decomposition of organic matter, while live roots contribute to respiration, according to Reference [3]
This may be resolved by increasing soil-organic-carbon (SOC) sequestration and identifying areas and soils with the greatest potential to undergo this process by the spatial quantification of SOC, in the topsoil layer and in deeper ones [4,5]
Summary
Sustainable agroecosystems tend to balance land exploitation for human needs such as food, fiber, and wood with the long-term conservation of natural resources. Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as a process or system where the agricultural yield is increased, or additional nonagricultural land is converted without adverse environmental impact [1] Some benefits of this system, including productivity, decrease in erosion, conservation of soil moisture, greater soil biological activity, and reduction in production costs, have been previously described [2]. Soil scientists are alarmed by the current status of global warming and positive carbon balance in Earth’s atmosphere. This may be resolved by increasing soil-organic-carbon (SOC) sequestration and identifying areas and soils with the greatest potential to undergo this process by the spatial quantification of SOC, in the topsoil layer and in deeper ones [4,5]
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