The effect of land management on carbon sequestration in salty rangelands of Golestan province, Iran

Abstract

Land management is one of the most important factors affecting the protection and carbon sequestration of natural ecosystems. If the ecosystem is maintained naturally, it will have suitable vegetation and soil stability. One of the important factors that affects land management is livestock grazing. In order to evaluate the impact of exclosure rangeland on carbon sequestration (CS) in salty rangelands, the study was carried out in Inchehboroun rangelands of Golestan province, Iran. The main purpose of current research was to evaluate the effectiveness of management of salt rangeland on CS by topsoil and halophytes species. For this purpose, 40 plots (with 2 m2 area) were located along 8 transects of 100 m in exclosure rangeland (ER) and grazing rangeland (GR) sites. The sampling method was randomized-systematic. In the area sampled, plant biomass was estimated. In addition, the content of above ground and underground biomass carbon, litter carbon, and soil organic carbon were determined for both ER and GR. The difference between the means was compared using Duncan test and t-test at P < 0.05. The result showed that the total CS for ER site was 15.02 ton/ha while it was 11.934 ton/ha in the case of GR. The total carbon sequestration (TCS) in ER was higher than the GR site. The CS of Halocnemum strobilaceum with 17.4 and 11.74% in ER and GR relatively was higher than that of other species. The results showed that the CS of shrubs in GR was lower than the ER site. The results revealed that the amount of C is affected by the land management in the production of OM and its degradation in the topsoil of salt rangeland. Aerial part of plants are the most important and sensitive part of an ecosystem that directly affects the C uptake and is also strongly influenced by the effect of animal grazing.