Landscape-scale variability of soil health indicators: effects of cultivation on soil organic carbon in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania

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dc.creatorWinowiecki, L.
dc.creatorVa°gen, T.
dc.creatorMassawe, B.
dc.creatorJelinski, N. A.
dc.creatorLyamchai, C.
dc.creatorSayula, G.
dc.creatorMsoka, E.
dc.date2019-04-16T13:59:47Z
dc.date2019-04-16T13:59:47Z
dc.date2015-11-02
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-25T08:52:25Z
dc.date.available2022-10-25T08:52:25Z
dc.descriptionThis article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
dc.descriptionLand-use change continues at an alarming rate in sub-Saharan Africa adversely affecting ecosystem services provided by soil. These impacts are greatly understudied, especially in biodiversity rich mountains in East Africa. The objectives of this study were to: conduct a biophysical baseline of soil and land health; assess the effects of cultivation on soil organic carbon (SOC); and develop a map of SOC at high resolution to enable farm-scale targeting of management interventions. Biophysical field surveys were conducted in a 100 km2 landscape near Lushoto, Tanzania, with composite soil samples collected from 160 sampling plots. Soil erosion prevalence was scored, trees were counted, and current and historic land use was recorded at each plot. The results of the study showed a decline in SOC as a result of cultivation, with cultivated plots (n = 105) having mean topsoil OC of 30.6 g kg-1, while semi-natural plots (n = 55) had 71 g OC kg-1 in topsoil. Cultivated areas were also less variable in SOC than seminatural systems. Prediction models were developed for the mapping of SOC based on RapidEye remote sensing data for January 2014, with good model performance (RMSEPcal = 8.0 g kg-1; RMSEPval = 10.5 g kg-1) and a SOC map was generated for the study. Interventions will need to focus on practices that increase SOC in order to enhance productivity and resilience of the farming system, in general. The highresolution maps can be used to spatially target interventions as well as for monitoring of changes in SOC.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/2773
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/92540
dc.languageen
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.subjectLand-use change
dc.subjectLand health
dc.subjectCropping diversity
dc.subjectUsambara Mountains
dc.titleLandscape-scale variability of soil health indicators: effects of cultivation on soil organic carbon in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

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