Soil carbon stocksin different land-use classes of Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Abstract

Land-use change exacerbates soil degradation by alterations in soil physical, chemical and biological
properties. In this study, we evaluated the total soil carbon in different land-use classes in Gandhinagar district.
Stratified random sampling approach was adopted to collect soil samples at three different depths of 10 cm each up to 30
cm from top. On the basis of analysis of variance between classes and within classes, it was observed that pH and
electrical conductivity did not show significant variation within each class and between different classes. Carbon stocks
varied with areas under vegetation class showing maximum amount while barren showing minimum carbon stocks. With
depth, carbon stocks showed a decrease in all classes with least standard deviation in barren and maximum deviation in
vegetation. Soil carbon stocks decrease with increased disturbance and decline in number of trees.