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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 10070

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Dr. Marco Antonio Jiménez-González

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Geology and Geochemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Interests: soil organic carbon; humic substances; soil organic matter; carbon sequestration; biogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The progress of soil degradation and the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, especially CO₂, are capturing the attention of the researchers. The soil is one of the largest carbon reservoirs on the planet; for this reason, its conservation is crucial for the health of the Earth and the organisms that inhabit it. Understanding the biogeochemical processes involved in the stabilization of soil organic carbon and developing new soil management strategies are important topics which can help us find solutions to try to solve these global problems. Important factors such as organomineral interactions and the chemical composition of the different fractions of organic matter have been extensively studied in recent years, but despite this, the biogeochemical processes involved in the content and stability of organic carbon remain obscure. Other researchers focus their studies on the development of soil management strategies that promote carbon sequestration or focus their work on the study of soil microorganisms and the effect on organic carbon content and stability.

This Special Issue aims to compile the most recent advances in the stabilization of carbon in soils and their conservation. It is an opportunity to present new results, discoveries, and possible solutions to promote soil carbon sequestration and to reduce soil degradation and CO₂ emissions.

Dr. Marco Antonio Jiménez-González
Guest Editor

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Keywords

soil carbon sequestration
humic substances
global change
soil organic matter
organo-mineral interactions
biogeochemistry
soil conservation
soil management
soil microorganism
soil degradation
soil organic carbon

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 11418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Carbon Storage in Forested and Non-Forested Soils in Tropical Wetlands of Caimanera, Colombia, and Llano, Mexico

by Gastón Ballut-Dajud, Luis Carlos Sandoval Herazo, Ingris María Osorio-Martínez, Wendy Báez-García, José Luis Marín-Muñiz and Erick Arturo Betanzo Torres

Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4966; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124966 - 11 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1512

Abstract

Mangrove forests are considered to be the most productive ecosystems on the planet due to the multiple ecosystem services they offer, both environmental economic, and social; however, their area in recent years has been decreasing due to anthropogenic activities such as urbanization and deforestation. These activities alter the normal cycle of carbon stored in sediments, which is considered their main function to counteract climate change. Therefore, the objective of this research was to compare the carbon storage capacity and coverage in forested and non-forested sites of two tropical wetlands located in Colombia (the Caimanera) and Mexico (the Llano). Methodologically, we began by identifying the coverages and determining the area in the wetlands with Sentinel-2A satellite images and a supervised classification; subsequently, soil cores were extracted in all the coverages to a depth of 70 cm and the apparent density (AD), the percentage of organic carbon (OC), and the density of carbon in the soil were determined. For analysis of the variables, a trend graph was constructed between carbon density and depth with descriptive statistics, using one-way ANOVA to establish which coverage and wetland were the most significant concerning carbon storage. The results of the supervised classification showed that Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans are the dominant species, also finding deforested areas in both wetlands. The one-way ANOVA statistical test indicated that the Caimanera, with the percentage of organic carbon (18.4 ± 1.19%), is 1.57 times greater than of the Llano mangrove swamp with (11.7 ± 0.748 MgC/ha). Through the trend graph, it was observed that the carbon density of the forested area of the Caimanera ranged from 120 to 140 MgC/ha, which is higher than in the deforested areas of the same wetland between 40 and 60 MgC/ha, and the homologous areas of the Llano wetland. The results suggest that deforested areas are sources of greenhouse gas emissions because they contain less carbon than forested areas. Therefore, it is concluded that the Caimanera and the Llano wetlands have the same mangrove species and that the average organic carbon stored in their soil is below the average of other mangrove forest soils in the American continent; it is recommended that the findings of this work be considered for the carbon balances by continent and the characterization of mangrove species according to their carbon storage capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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16 pages, 2905 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Allometric Equations to Determine the Biomass of Plant Components and the Total Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Young Mediterranean Argan Trees

by Assma Oumasst, Fatima Ezzahra Tiouidji, Salma Tabi, Abdelaziz Zahidi, Abdelhamid El Mousadik, Aissam El Finti, Abderrahmane Aitlhaj and Jamal Hallam

Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4592; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114592 - 28 May 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1233

Abstract

Morocco’s argan trees, native to forests, are now cultivated in large orchards within the Argan Biosphere Reserve, transforming “Arganiculture”. These orchards are anticipated to bolster carbon storage, but their precise contribution to carbon storage remains unclear. This study introduces for the first time allometric equations for estimating biomass in different components of argan plants within orchards. A total of 89 plant individuals, aged 2 to 6 years, were collected. Their diameter and total height were measured. The biomass, carbon content, and biomass carbon stock of each component were determined. The best-fit allometric equation incorporates diameter, height, growing years, and root-to-shoot ratio to estimate total biomass (R² = 0.95). The estimated total carbon biomass stock ranged from 0.01 to 0.82 t CO₂ ha⁻¹ for plants, at a density of 200 plants ha⁻¹. Between 2021 and 2023, the average annual carbon sequestration was 0.20 t CO₂ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. This model offers valuable tools for use when species-specific equations during the establishment growing stage are unavailable, enhancing carbon sequestration quantification for more reliable results and informing climate change mitigation strategies. The allometric parameters serve as benchmarks for trees resembling the argan tree. The methodology could be adapted for other forest plants undergoing conversion to orchard cultivation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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15 pages, 2385 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrolases Control Soil Carbon Sequestration in Alpine Grasslands in the Tibetan Plateau

by Yuanye Zhang, Xia Wang, Yuxin Sun, Jinhong Wu, Tao Deng, Menghan Yuan, Wenhui Duan and Yunfei Zhao

Sustainability 2024, 16(9), 3508; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16093508 - 23 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1009

Abstract

Microbial-sourced carbon is an important component of soil organic carbon (SOC) and influences SOC’s size and turnover. Soil extracellular enzymes can participate in the degradation of plants in the soil to produce substances needed by microorganisms, which in turn affects microbial sources of carbon. Most of the current studies focus on the effects of soil extracellular enzymes on SOC pools, while there is a lack of clarity regarding the effects on microbial sources of carbon during SOC pool formation. In this paper, three typical grassland types (alpine meadow, alpine grassland, and desert grassland, respectively) on the Tibetan Plateau were selected as research objects to investigate the effects of grassland type and soil depth on microbial-sourced carbon (amino sugars) and soil extracellular enzymes (hydrolytic enzymes: β-glucosidase and cellulase; oxidative enzymes: peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase) in the soil profiles. Our study shows that the content of amino sugars in the three grassland types followed the order: alpine meadow > alpine grassland > desert grassland; the content of hydrolytic enzyme followed the order of alpine meadow > alpine grassland > desert grassland; the content of oxidative enzyme followed the order of desert grassland > alpine grassland > alpine meadow; amino sugars content showed a positive correlation with hydrolytic enzymes and a negative correlation with oxidative enzymes; and the hydrolytic enzyme was the main factor promoting the accumulation of amino sugars. The environmental conditions of alpine meadows and alpine grasslands are more favorable for the formation of microbial-derived carbon and have greater sequestration potential, while desert grasslands are not favorable for the formation of microbial-derived carbon. The results of this study provide a reference basis for exploring the model of organic carbon sequestration in the Tibetan Plateau. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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11 pages, 2529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Topsoil Carbon Content and Quality in a Peatland and Reforested Soil after 50 Years of Soil Restoration in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain)

by Marco A. Jiménez-González, Sana Boubehziz, Ana M. Álvarez, Pilar Carral, María José Marqués-Pérez, Sameh K. Abd-Elmabod and Gonzalo Almendros

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16312; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316312 - 25 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1133

Abstract

The increase in atmospheric CO₂ levels and the advance of desertification due to soil degradation across our planet is becoming one of humanity’s most serious concerns. The restoration and development of soil management techniques are becoming widespread tools to protect soils. The Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain) is an area that has suffered historically severe deforestation, but it was reforested in an extensive program 50 years ago. In this study, an evaluation of the soils in the restored area was carried out. For this purpose, the chemical composition of the different soil organic matter fractions was characterized using infrared and UV-vis spectroscopies. The results showed a large increase in carbon stocks in the topsoil (0–10 cm) (about 30 Mg·ha⁻¹ more than the area not reforested) after reforestation 50 years ago. There was also an increased level of transformation of organic carbon into resilient humic structures, which are resistant to degradation. Reforestation activities within the National Park have greatly increased the humification rates of organic matter, resulting in the accumulation of high-quality organic carbon. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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15 pages, 584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Amide Fertilizer on Carbon Sequestration under the Agroforestry System in the Eastern Plateau Region of India

by Rikesh Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Sambhunath Karmakar, Amit Kumar, Alok Kumar Singh, Abhay Kumar and Jitendra Singh

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9775; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129775 - 19 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1469

Abstract

Carbon sequestration is an important aspect of expelling greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and decelerating the rate of global warming. Agroforestry plays an important role in carbon sequestration. Keeping this in mind, the current study was carried out between 2017 and 2021 to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on biomass production, carbon sequestration, and carbon credit in a mango and turmeric agroforestry system. The study used randomized block design (RBD) with four treatments and five replications. According to the findings of this study, the rate of fertilizer application has a significant impact on the growth of turmeric and mango crops. The physiochemical characteristics of soil show an improvement in soil composition with the application of urea (CO(NH₂)₂), single super phosphate [Ca(H₂PO₄)₂.2H₂O] 226 kg ha⁻¹, MOP [KCl] 309 kg ha⁻¹ 100 kg ha⁻¹. The carbon density of the agrihorticulture land use system was six to seven times higher than that of the open agriculture-based land use system. The highest turmeric production (8.98 t ha⁻¹) was reported under the mango-turmeric system rather than turmeric alone (6.36 t ha⁻¹) in the T₂-N100kg treatment. Total biomass production (61.2 t ha⁻¹ and 64.6 t ha⁻¹), carbon stock (38.6 t ha⁻¹ and 41.06 t ha⁻¹), carbon sequestration (246.5 t ha⁻¹ and 299.5 t ha⁻¹), and carbon credit (246.57 credits and 299.5 credits) were found to be highest in mango and turmeric-based agroforestry land use system treatments T_2-N100 kg and T_3-N80 Kg, respectively. The net additional profit from the agrihorticulture land use system was 299.5 carbon credits, which is equivalent to 4,49,250 INR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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15 pages, 3456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of Soil CO₂ Emission and Tree Productivity to Nitrogen and Phosphorus Additions in a Nitrogen-Rich Subtropical Chinese Fir Plantation

by Xiaochen Lu, Binjie Li and Guangsheng Chen

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9466; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129466 - 13 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1244

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients have been regularly applied to improve productivity in intensively managed and short-rotation forest plantations in subtropical China. Under the constraint of the national policy of “carbon neutrality”, it is necessary to determine the rational fertilization options by considering both forest productivity and soil CO₂ emissions. Past worldwide studies have shown varied responses of forest soil heterotrophic respiration and CO₂ emissions to N and P additions. This study designed six treatments with N additions (high level: 15 g N/m², HN), P (low: 5 g P/m², LP; high: 15 g P/m², HP), and their interactions (HNLP and HNHP) to explore the effects of N and P additions on soil CO₂ emissions in a P-limited and N-rich Chinese fir plantation (Cunninghamia lanceolata), and we identified the underlying controls using the structural equation model (SEM). The results indicated that LP, HNLP, and HNHP treatments significantly increased soil CO₂ emissions in the first four months after treatment and the effects leveled since then. The balance between N and P inputs affected the responses of soil CO₂ emissions to P additions. A low P addition significantly increased tree productivity, but the promoting effect gradually declined and was no longer significant after 3 years. Other treatments did not significantly affect tree productivity. The SEM analysis revealed that the promoting effects of P additions on CO₂ emission were mainly due to their effects on increasing soil water-soluble organic carbon content and reducing microbial biomass nitrogen content. Considering both soil respiration and tree productivity, this study suggested that LP treatment can effectively balance the N and P nutrients and, in the meantime, maintain relatively low greenhouse gas emissions; thus a low P application level is suggested for N-rich Chinese fir plantations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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17 pages, 3242 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Methane Anaerobic Oxidation Potential and Microbial Community Response to Sulfate Input in Coastal Wetlands of the Yellow River Delta

by Jun Li, Qingfeng Chen, Xinghua Wang, Yu Tan, Luzhen Li, Bowei Zhang, Beibei Guo and Changsheng Zhao

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7053; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097053 - 23 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1601

Abstract

In the context of global warming and carbon neutrality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is fundamental to achieving sustainable development. As an important greenhouse gas, methane has a much stronger warming effect than CO₂, and studies have demonstrated that anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is important for global methane emissions. This paper systematically investigated the AOM potential and microbial community response to the input of SO₄²⁻ in the three typical salt marsh soils of the Yellow River Delta: Reed, Suaeda salsa, and Tamarisk, using SO₄²⁻ as the electron acceptor and a combination of indoor anaerobic culture and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that after adding an appropriate concentration of SO₄²⁻, the AOM potential was significantly promoted in Tamarix soil (p < 0.05) and significantly inhibited in Reed and Suaeda salsa soil (p < 0.05); soil AOM potential and SO₄²⁻ input concentration and background values were correlated. At the microbial level, SO₄²⁻ input affected the abundance of some microorganisms. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was increased in Suaeda salsa soil, decreased in Tamarisk soil, and did not change significantly in Reed soil; that of Crenarchaeota and Desulfobacterota was significantly increased in Tamarisk soil. At the genus level, Methylophaga, Methylotenera, and Methylomonaceae became the dominant populations, and it can be inferred that these bacteria are involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane after the input of SO₄²⁻. This study will be of great significance to the mechanistic study of AOM and the conservation of microbial diversity in the Yellow River Delta Coastal Wetland, as well as provide a scientific basis for CH₄ reduction in coastal wetlands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission)

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