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Contribution and stability of forest-derived soil organic carbon during woody encroachment in a tropical savanna. A case study in Gabon

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Abstract

In this study, we quantified the contribution of forest-derived carbon (FDC) to the soil organic C (SOC) pool along a natural succession from savanna (S) to mixed Marantaceae forest (MMF) in the Lopè National Park, Gabon. Four 1-ha plots, corresponding to different stages along the natural succession, were used to determine the SOC stock and soil C isotope composition (δ13C) to derive the FDC contribution in different soil layers down to 1 m depth. Besides, to investigate changes in SOC stability, we determined the 14C concentration of SOC to 30 cm depth and derived turnover time (TT). Results indicated that SOC increased only at the end of the succession in the MMF stage, which stored 46% more SOC (41 Mg C ha−1) in the 0–30 cm depth than the S stage (28.8 Mg C ha−1). The FDC contribution increased along forest succession affecting mainly the top layers of the initial successional stages to 15 cm depth and reaching 70 cm depth in the MMF stage. The TT suggests a small increase in stability in the 0–5 cm layer from S (146 years) to MMF (157 years) stages. Below 5 cm, the increase in stability was high, suggesting that FDC can remain in soils for a much longer time than savanna-derived C. In conclusion, the natural succession toward Marantaceae forests can positively impact climate change resulting in large SOC stocks, which can be removed from the atmosphere and stored for a much longer time in forest soils compared to savanna soils.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Direction Générale de l’Environnement, the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux for institutional and logistical support to this study and to the staff of the Station d’Etudes des Gorilles et Chimpanzés, particularly Dibakou J, for logistical, technical and field support during field work. We also acknowledge Luciano Spaccino for his skill in executing the isotope ratio determinations.

Funding

This work was funded by the ERC grant GHG Africa no. 247349.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, via San C. De Lellis snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy

    T. Chiti & R. Valentini

  2. Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Viterbo, Italy

    T. Chiti & R. Valentini

  3. Department of Biogeography and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Science (MNCN) Spanish Scientific Council (CSIC), Serrano 115bis, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    A. Rey

  4. Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, 20379, Libreville, BP, Gabon

    K. Jeffery, V. Mihindou & L. J. T. White

  5. School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA, UK

    K. Jeffery & L. J. T. White

  6. Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale, CENAREST, Libreville, Gabon

    K. Jeffery & L. J. T. White

  7. Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), National Council of Research (CNR), Via G. Marconi 2, Porano, 05010, Terni, Italy

    M. Lauteri

  8. Ministere de la Forêt, de l’environnement et de la Protection des Ressources Naturelles, Libreville, Gabon

    V. Mihindou

  9. Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Y. Malhi

  10. Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Seconda Università di Napoli, Viale Lincoln 5, 81100, Caserta, Italy

    F. Marzaioli

  11. RUDN University, Moscow, Russia

    R. Valentini

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  1. T. Chiti
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Chiti, T., Rey, A., Jeffery, K. et al. Contribution and stability of forest-derived soil organic carbon during woody encroachment in a tropical savanna. A case study in Gabon. Biol Fertil Soils 54, 897–907 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-018-1313-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-018-1313-6

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