NDLI: Carbon loss from Brachystegia spiciformis leaf litter in the sandy soils of southern Mozambique

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Nhantumbo, Alfredo B. J. C. Kätterer, Thomas Ledin, Stig Preez, Christiaan C.
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	Leaves of Brachystegia spiciformis represent a substantial fraction of the total aboveground litter in bush fallow fields with sandy soils in southern Mozambique, where annual rainfall exceeds 600 mm. This species is one of the most important in the miombo woodland that is the natural vegetation of the region. Proper knowledge of the decomposition of its litter is therefore crucial for understanding processes responsible for natural build-up of fertility in agricultural soils abandoned to bush fallow during shifting cultivation. This study investigated the effects of soil water content and soil temperature on loss of organic carbon (C) from decomposing leaves in litterbags with 1 mm mesh size. The litterbags were buried 50 mm deep in recently abandoned agricultural fields cleared of any vegetation (Bare) and in more than 15-year-old bush fallow fields (Fallow) of sites covering a climatic transect with annual rainfall from <400 mm to >1,000 mm. Two patterns of C loss were observed, one in coastal and wetter agroecosystems (rainfall >600 mm) and the other in inland and drier agroecosystems (rainfall <600 mm). In the wetter agroecosystems C loss was faster, whereas in drier agroecosystems it was more sensitive to rainfall pulses. Similarly, C loss was faster in fallow fields than in bare fields. During summer, bare fields reached soil temperatures higher than the estimated upper boundary favourable for C loss from decomposing leaf litter at all sites. A simple dynamic decomposition model describing the C fraction remaining in the litterbags was developed. Coefficients of determination (R 2) for the individual experimental units varied between 0.79 and 0.97. The general model for all sites and fields improved explanation of total variation from 81% to 86% when measured soil temperature and soil water content were used as modifiers of decomposition rate, compared with the standard negative exponential model. Root-mean-square error and systematic bias were 9.7% and 0.5% of initial C, respectively. Decomposition was more strongly affected by soil water content than by soil temperature and explained 75% of total variation. Thus, rainfall is the main driver of C loss from leaf litter in these agroecosystems.
Starting Page	13
Ending Page	26
Page Count	14
File Format	PDF
ISSN	13851314
Journal	Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
Volume Number	83
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	15730867
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2008-08-09
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Litter decomposition Bush fallow Agroecosystems Agriculture
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Agronomy and Crop Science Soil Science

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