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Soil organic carbon fractions, carbon stocks and microbial biomass carbon in different agroforestry systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains in Bihar, India


Affiliations
1 ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India; ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam 793 103, India, India
2 ICAR-Mahatma Gandhi Integrated Farming Research Institute, Motihari 845 429, India, India
3 ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India, India
4 College of Agriculture University, Jodhpur 342 304, India, India
5 ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam 793 103, India, India
6 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, India, India
 

A study was undertaken in the Vaishali district of Bihar, India, in 2020 to assess the effect of various agroforestry systems (AFS) on the distribution of different pools of soil organic carbon (fraction I – very labile, fraction II – labile, fraction III – less labile and fraction IV – non-labile), carbon stocking and soil microbial activity. The mean (0–45 cm) total organic carbon (TOC) in different AFS ranged from 5.55 to 6.64 Mg C ha–1, with the highest under poplar-based AFS (PB-AFS). Across the AFS studied, the C stocks (0–45 cm) varied from 36.24 (mango-based AFS) to 41.43 Mg C ha–1 (PB-AFS). Overall, the magnitude of C fractions showed the order: fraction I > fraction IV > fraction III > fraction II. Significantly higher soil microbial biomass carbon was recorded under PB-AFS (219.36 mg g–1) in 0–15 cm depth. Basal respiration was also the highest under PB-AFS (0.54 mg CO2-C g–1 h–1), followed by TB-AFS (0.50 mg CO2-C g–1 h–1) in 0–15 cm depth. Principal component analysis result showed that PC 1 and PC 2 represented about 97% of the total variation. TOC and active carbon pool had the maximum loading in PC 1, while microbial metabolic quotient and bulk density had the maximum value in PC 2

Keywords

Agroforestry system, basal respiration, princi-pal component analysis, soil microbial activity, total orga-nic carbon.
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  • Soil organic carbon fractions, carbon stocks and microbial biomass carbon in different agroforestry systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains in Bihar, India

Abstract Views: 246  |  PDF Views: 139

Authors

Nongmaithem Raju Singh
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India; ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam 793 103, India, India
A. Raizada
ICAR-Mahatma Gandhi Integrated Farming Research Institute, Motihari 845 429, India, India
K. K. Rao
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India, India
Kirti Saurabh
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India, India
Kumari Shubha
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India, India
Rachana Dubey
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, India, India
L. Netajit Singh
College of Agriculture University, Jodhpur 342 304, India, India
Ashish Singh
ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam 793 103, India, India
A. Arunachalam
ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, India, India

Abstract


A study was undertaken in the Vaishali district of Bihar, India, in 2020 to assess the effect of various agroforestry systems (AFS) on the distribution of different pools of soil organic carbon (fraction I – very labile, fraction II – labile, fraction III – less labile and fraction IV – non-labile), carbon stocking and soil microbial activity. The mean (0–45 cm) total organic carbon (TOC) in different AFS ranged from 5.55 to 6.64 Mg C ha–1, with the highest under poplar-based AFS (PB-AFS). Across the AFS studied, the C stocks (0–45 cm) varied from 36.24 (mango-based AFS) to 41.43 Mg C ha–1 (PB-AFS). Overall, the magnitude of C fractions showed the order: fraction I > fraction IV > fraction III > fraction II. Significantly higher soil microbial biomass carbon was recorded under PB-AFS (219.36 mg g–1) in 0–15 cm depth. Basal respiration was also the highest under PB-AFS (0.54 mg CO2-C g–1 h–1), followed by TB-AFS (0.50 mg CO2-C g–1 h–1) in 0–15 cm depth. Principal component analysis result showed that PC 1 and PC 2 represented about 97% of the total variation. TOC and active carbon pool had the maximum loading in PC 1, while microbial metabolic quotient and bulk density had the maximum value in PC 2

Keywords


Agroforestry system, basal respiration, princi-pal component analysis, soil microbial activity, total orga-nic carbon.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv124%2Fi8%2F981-987