Soil organic carbon content under different land uses in the mt. elgon ecosystem, Kenya

Abstract

This study compared total soil organic carbon in soils from a mature primary undisturbed 30- year old forest with that from 5-year old secondary forest plantation and 20-year old coffee plantation in Cheptais forest of the Mt. Elgon ecosystem. Insights into its potential for soil carbon sequestration are essential in developing carbon offset products from the ecosystem. Data was collected from plot sizes of 50m by 50m (2500 m2

) set up at the different landscapes depicting different land use type. Soil profiles were excavated to a depth of 40 cm at representative points within each plot. Three separate soil samples were taken from 0- 10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm starting with the lower depth. Total organic carbon was estimated using chemical combustion method. The undisturbed forest had higer levels of SOC compared to the coffee cropped land. With the opportunities presented by Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and Payment for Environmental Services (PES) the productive landscapes should indentify strategies that improve the SOC and package for possible consideration in the carbon market and other carbon offset programs for ecosystem management in the region.