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

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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.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the Provincial Directorate of Inhambane and Gaza provinces for their support during data collection. Thanks are also due to technicians of the Rural Engineering Department, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering—UEM and to Yvonne Dessels at the University of Free State, who assisted with the laboratory analysis. The authors are also grateful for the assistance provided by Annae Senkoro, Aurélio Bechel and Castilho Massico. The research was carried out within the framework of the collaboration programme between Eduardo Mondlane University, University of Free State and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and was funded by Sida/SAREC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, P.O. Box 257, Maputo, Mozambique

    Alfredo B. J. C. Nhantumbo

  2. Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa

    Alfredo B. J. C. Nhantumbo & Christiaan C. Du Preez

  3. Department of Soil Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Thomas Kätterer & Stig Ledin

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  1. Alfredo B. J. C. Nhantumbo
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Correspondence to Alfredo B. J. C. Nhantumbo.

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Nhantumbo, A.B.J.C., Kätterer, T., Ledin, S. et al. Carbon loss from Brachystegia spiciformis leaf litter in the sandy soils of southern Mozambique. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 83, 13–26 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9194-y

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