Effects of different landuse types on soil organic carbon storage

Landuse change is one of the most important influential factors on the protection of natural ecosystems, since it greatly contributes to, for example, stabilizing soil and avoiding its erosion. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different landuses on soil carbon sequestration potential in Chahartagh-e Ardal area of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. To this aim, six different landuse types including natural forest, disturbed forest, enclosure forest, garden, grassland and agriculture were selected, followed by randomly drawing ten samples in each landuse type. In addition, quantitative parameters of existing vegetation, and 60 soil samples were also taken from the 0-60 cm soil depth in each plot. Soil analysis was performed to determine the texture, bulk density and soil organic carbon. The results showed that enclosure forest has the highest rate of carbon sequestration in soil among the different land uses (47.466 Mg C ha-1) and the lowest rate related to disturbed forest (13.689 Mg C ha-1), which was attributed to its appropriate vegetation and ecosystem dynamics. Moreover, a significant difference (p < 0.01) was observed. The results suggest that forest ecosystems that have not been influenced by human interferences play an important role in long-term storage of soil carbon. In addition, any interference in natural ecosystem condition can be associated with negative impact on different levels on soil carbon storage.