Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon accumulation in soil layers under degraded, intact and planted forest cover types in tropical semi-deciduous and moist evergreen forests

New Forests volume 54, pages 161–177 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Tropical forest soils can contribute significantly to mitigating climate change by sequestering and storing carbon in their layers. However, in West Africa, knowledge of how much carbon is stored in deeper soil layers of various forest cover types and protected from further release into the atmosphere remains scanty. We quantified the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of tropical soils in Ghana at 0–20 cm and 20–50 cm, by comparing a degraded forest and an intact forest in the semi-deciduous forest zone, and intact forest, degraded forest, and agroforestry plantations in the moist evergreen forest zone. In semi-deciduous forests, C concentration was significantly higher for intact forest than degraded forest, but total C content of soils from the intact forest was not greater than the degraded forest due to compensating differences in bulk density. C content differed by depth for the two forests, with values at 0–20 cm of 48.1 vs 38.4 Mg ha−1 and at 20–50 cm of 20.6 vs 26.5 Mg ha−1, for degraded and intact forests respectively. In moist evergreen forests, soil C concentrations were similar between intact forest, degraded forest and plantations, yet, differed between the depths. Among the three, soils under plantations had the highest C content due to higher bulk density. For N, differences among cover types and soil depths followed similar patterns as those for C. Our results suggest the potential for formerly disturbed or degraded forests to gain more C lies primarily in live forest biomass, not in soil, especially if forests have maintained vegetative cover of some type since disturbance. The potentially large capacity for deeper soil layers to store C, and their reduced susceptibility to forest disturbance makes them an important soil carbon pool to further quantify and preserve.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

39,95 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

References

  • Adu-Bredu S, Abekoe M, Tachie-Obeng E, Tschakert P (2010) Carbon stock under four land use systems in three varied ecological zones in Ghana. Africa and the Carbon Cycle. FAO, Rome, p 105

    Google Scholar 

  • Albaladejo J, Ortiz R, Garcia-Franco N, Navarro AR, Almagro M, Pintado JG, Martínez-Mena M (2013) Land use and climate change impacts on soil organic carbon stocks in semi-arid Spain. J Soils Sediments 13:265–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Appiah M (2003) Domestication of an indigenous tropical forest tree: Silvicultural and socio-economic studies on Iroko (Milicia excelsa) in Ghana. University of Helsinki, Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI), Helsinki

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrouays D, Deslais W, Badeau V (2001) The carbon content of topsoil and its geographical distribution in France. Soil Use Manag 17:7–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balboa-Murias MA, Rojo A, Álvarez JG, Merino A (2006) Carbon and nutrient stocks in mature Quercus robur L. stands in NW Spain. Ann for Sci 63:557–565

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bauhus J, Khanna PK, Hopmans P, Weston C (2002) Is soil carbon a useful indicator of sustainable forest soil management?—A case study from native eucalypt forests of South-Eastern Australia. For Ecol Manage 171:59–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berihu T, Girmay G, Sebhatleab M, Berhane E, Zenebe A, Sigua GC (2017) Soil carbon and nitrogen losses following deforestation in Ethiopia. Agron Sustain Dev 37:1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berry N (2011) Whole farm carbon accounting by smallholders, lessons from Plan Vivo Projects. Presentation at the ‘Smallholder Mitigation: Whole Farm and Landscape Accounting’Workshop, FAO, Rome, 27–28th October, 2011

  • Bessah E, Bala A, Agodzo SK, Okhimamhe AA (2016) Dynamics of soil organic carbon stocks in the Guinea savanna and transition agro-ecology under different land-use systems in Ghana. Cogent Geosci 2:1140319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bewket W, Stroosnijder L (2003) Effects of agroecological land use succession on soil properties in Chemoga watershed, Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Geoderma 111:85–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • BirdLife International (2020) Important bird areas factsheet: Tano-Anwia forest reserve. Retrieved from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tano-anwia-forest-reserve-iba-ghana. Accessed 9 Apr 2020

  • Blay D, Dwomoh F, Damnyag L (2009) Case studies on measuring and assessing forest degradation. Assessment of forest degradation by local communities: the case study of Ghana. Forest Resources Assessment Working Paper, 160

    Google Scholar 

  • Brahma B, Pathak K, Lal R, Kurmi B, Das M, Nath PC, Nath AJ, Das AK (2018) Ecosystem carbon sequestration through restoration of degraded lands in Northeast India. Land Degrad Dev 29:15–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S, Lugo AE (1984) Biomass of tropical forests: a new estimate based on forest volumes. Science 223:1290–1293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S, Lugo AE (1990) Tropical secondary forests. J Trop Ecol 6:1–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown HC, Berninger FA, Larjavaara M, Appiah M (2020) Above-ground carbon stocks and timber value of old timber plantations, secondary and primary forests in southern Ghana. For Ecol Manag 472:118236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns M, Barker J, Shea R, Haggerty P (1996) Carbon dynamics of Mexican tropical evergreen forests: influence of forestry mitigation options and refinement of carbon-flux estimates. Interciencia 21:216

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiti T, Certini G, Grieco E, Valentini R (2010) The role of soil in storing carbon in tropical rainforests: the case of Ankasa Park, Ghana. Plant Soil 331:453–461

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Trumbore SE, Amundson R (2000) Soil warming and organic carbon content. Nature 408:789–790

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeGryze S, Six J, Paustian K, Morris SJ, Paul EA, Merckx R (2004) Soil organic carbon pool changes following land-use conversions. Glob Change Biol 10:1120–1132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derkyi MAA (2012) Fighting over forest: interactive governance of conflicts over forest and tree resources in Ghana's high forest zone (No. 41). African Studies Centre

  • Don A, Schumacher J, Freibauer A (2011) Impact of tropical land-use change on soil organic carbon stocks–a meta-analysis. Glob Change Biol 17:1658–1670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2010) Global resources assessment 2010. Country report. Ghana, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2019) Measuring and modelling soil carbon stocks and stock changes in livestock production systems: guidelines for assessment (Version 1). Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership. Rome, FAO. 170 pp

  • Foli E, Agyeman V, and Pentsil M (2009) Ensuring sustainable timber supply in Ghana: a case for plantations of indigenous timber species. Forestry Research Institute of Ghana. Technical Note

  • Forrester D, Pares A, O’hara C, Khanna P, Bauhus J (2013) Soil organic carbon is increased in mixed-species plantations of eucalyptus and nitrogen-fixing Acacia. Ecosystems 16:123–132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gautam S, Pietsch SA (2012) Carbon pools of an intact forest in G abon. Afr J Ecol 50:414–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbon A, Silman MR, Malhi Y, Fisher JB, Meir P, Zimmermann M, Dargie GC, Farfan WR, Garcia KC (2010) Ecosystem carbon storage across the grassland–forest transition in the high Andes of Manu National Park, Peru. Ecosystems 13:1097–1111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gross CD, Harrison RB (2019) The case for digging deeper: soil organic carbon storage, dynamics, and controls in our changing world. Soil Syst 3:28

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grüneberg E, Schöning I, Kalko EK, Weisser WW (2010) Regional organic carbon stock variability: a comparison between depth increments and soil horizons. Geoderma 155:426–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo LB, Gifford RM (2002) Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis. Glob Change Biol 8:345–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall JB, Swaine MD (1981) Distribution and ecology of vascular plants in a tropical rain forest. Dr. W. Junk, The Hague

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harper R, Tibbett M (2013) The hidden organic carbon in deep mineral soils. Plant Soil 368:641–648

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper R, Okom A, Stilwell A, Tibbett M, Dean C, George S, Sochacki S, Mitchell C, Mann S, Dods K (2012) Reforesting degraded agricultural landscapes with eucalypts: effects on carbon storage and soil fertility after 26 years. Agric Ecosyst Environ 163:3–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawthorne W, Abu-Juam M (1995) Forest protection in Ghana: with particular reference to vegetation and plant species. IUCN, Switzerland

    Google Scholar 

  • He Y, Qin L, Li Z, Liang X, Shao M, Tan L (2013) Carbon storage capacity of monoculture and mixed-species plantations in subtropical China. For Ecol Manage 295:193–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgman T, Munger J (2009) Managing afforestation and reforestation projects for carbon sequestration: key considerations for land managers and policymakers. Forests and carbon: a synthesis of science, management, and policy for carbon sequestration in forests, pp 313–346

  • Hofstede RG, Castillo MXM, Osorio CMR (1995) Biomass of grazed, burned, and undisturbed páramo grasslands, Colombia. I. Aboveground vegetation. Arc Alpine Res 27:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton R, Hackler J (2000) Changes in terrestrial carbon storage in the United States 1: The roles of agriculture and forestry. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 9:125–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2019) Generic methodologies applicable to multiple land-use categories. In: CalvoBuendia E, Tanabe K, Kranjc A, Baasansuren J, Fukuda M, Ngarize S, Osako A, Pyrozhenko Y, Shermanau P, Federici S (eds) 2019 refinement to the 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. Volume 4: Agriculture, forestry and other land use. IPCC, Geneva, pp 21–296

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2000) The carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Land use, land-use change and forestry: a special report of the International panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN (2014) Assessing forest reserve conditions in ghana through crown cover mapping. Technical Report, Pre-Publication Draft

  • Jobbágy EG, Jackson RB (2000) The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecol Appl 10:423–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendie G, Addisu S, Abiyu A (2019) Biomass and soil carbon stocks in different forest types, Northwestern Ethiopia. Int J River Basin Manage. https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2019.1593183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laganiere J, Angers DA, Pare D (2010) Carbon accumulation in agricultural soils after afforestation: a meta-analysis. Glob Change Biol 16:439–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Law BE, Turner D, Campbell J, Sun O, Van Tuyl S, Ritts W, Cohen W (2004) Disturbance and climate effects on carbon stocks and fluxes across Western Oregon USA. Glob Change Biol 10:1429–1444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis SL, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Sonké B, Affum-Baffoe K, Baker TR, Ojo LO, Phillips OL, Reitsma JM, White L, Comiskey JA (2009) Increasing carbon storage in intact African tropical forests. Nature 457:1003–1006

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin C (1982) Management plan for the Bia Wildlife Conservation Areas. General part (1) and final report. IUCN/WWF project 1251

  • Ming A, Jia H, Zhao J, Tao Y, Li Y (2014) Above-and below-ground carbon stocks in an indigenous tree (Mytilaria laosensis) plantation chronosequence in subtropical China. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murty D, Kirschbaum MU, Mcmurtrie RE, Mcgilvray H (2002) Does conversion of forest to agricultural land change soil carbon and nitrogen? A review of the literature. Glob Change Biol 8:105–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nang BD (2016) Soil carbon store and storage potential as affected by human activities in the natural forest˗ savanna zone of Northern Ghana. J Ecol Nat Environ 8:31–39

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann-Cosel L, Zimmermann B, Hall JS, van Breugel M, Elsenbeer H (2011) Soil carbon dynamics under young tropical secondary forests on former pastures—a case study from Panama. For Ecol Manage 261:1625–1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nti BK (2012) Carbon stock in plantations of indigenous tree species in the wet evergreen vegetation of Ghana. [Master’s thesis, Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science and Techonology, Kumasi, Ghana]. Retrieved from http://ir.knust.edu.gh/xmlui/handle/123456789/5761. Accessed 30 July 2020

  • Nyssen J, Temesgen H, Lemenih M, Zenebe A, Haregeweyn N, Haile M (2008) Spatial and temporal variation of soil organic carbon stocks in a lake retreat area of the Ethiopian Rift valley. Geoderma 146:261–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveras I, van der Eynden M, Malhi Y, Cahuana N, Menor C, Zamora F, Haugaasen T (2014) Grass allometry and estimation of above-ground biomass in tropical alpine tussock grasslands. Austral Ecol 39:408–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opoku K, Nketiah K, Arthur E (2005) Reconciling policy reforms with forest legislation. Proceedings of a workshop held in Elmina, Ghana, In: Reconciling policy reforms with forest legislation. Proceedings of a workshop held in Elmina, Ghana, 4–5 July 2005. Tropenbos International

  • Opuni-Frimpong E, Opoku S, Storer A, Burton A, Yeboah D (2013) Productivity, pest tolerance and carbon sequestration of Khaya grandifoliola in the dry semi-deciduous forest of Ghana: a comparison in pure stands and mixed stands. New for 44:863–879

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peichl M, Arain MA (2006) Above-and belowground ecosystem biomass and carbon pools in an age-sequence of temperate pine plantation forests. Agric for Meteorol 140:51–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petit B, Montagnini F (2006) Growth in pure and mixed plantations of tree species used in reforesting rural areas of the humid region of Costa Rica, Central America. For Ecol Manage 233:338–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ping C-L, Michaelson GJ, Stiles CA, González G (2013) Soil characteristics, carbon stores, and nutrient distribution in eight forest types along an elevational gradient, eastern Puerto Rico. In: Gonzalez G, Willig MR, Waide RB (eds) Ecological gradient analyses in a tropical landscape. Ecological bulletins 54. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, pp 67–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Piotto D (2008) A meta-analysis comparing tree growth in monocultures and mixed plantations. For Ecol Manag 255:781–786

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post WM, Emanuel WR, Zinke PJ, Stangenberger AG (1982) Soil carbon pools and world life zones. Nature 298:156–159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Powers RF (1989) Do timber management operations degrade long-term productivity? A research and national forest system cooperative study. In: Proceedings of the National Silviculture Workshop: Silviculture challenges and opportunities of the 1990s, Petersburg, Alaska, pp. 101–115

  • Powers MD, Kolka RK, Bradford JB, Palik BJ, Fraver S, Jurgensen MF (2012) Carbon stocks across a chronosequence of thinned and unmanaged red pine (Pinus resinosa) stands. Ecol Appl 22:1297–1307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan B, Awasthi K, Bajracharya R (2012) Soil organic carbon stocks under different forest types in Pokhare Khola sub-watershed: a case study from Dhading district of Nepal. WIT Trans Ecol Environ 157:535–546

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson RN, Apps M, Brown S, Cole CV, Downing J, Heath LS, Ojima DS, Smith TM, Solomon AM, Wisniewski J (1993) Workshop summary statement: terrestrial bioshperic carbon fluxes quantification of sinks and sources of CO2. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 3–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartori F, Lal R, Ebinger MH, Eaton JA (2007) Changes in soil carbon and nutrient pools along a chronosequence of poplar plantations in the Columbia Plateau, Oregon, USA. Agric Ecosyst Environ 122:325–339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Lichter J (2001) Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2. Nature 411:466–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Setälä HM, Francini G, Allen JA, Hui N, Jumpponen A, Kotze DJ (2016) Vegetation type and age drive changes in soil properties, nitrogen, and carbon sequestration in urban parks under cold climate. Front Ecol Evol 4:93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siry JP, Cubbage FW, Ahmed MR (2005) Sustainable forest management: global trends and opportunities. For Policy Econ 7:551–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P, Soussana JF, Angers D, Schipper L, Chenu C, Rasse DP, Batjes NH, van Egmond F, McNeill S, Kuhnert M (2020) How to measure, report and verify soil carbon change to realize the potential of soil carbon sequestration for atmospheric greenhouse gas removal. Glob Change Biol 26:219–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swaine M (1992) Characteristics of dry forest in West Africa and the influence of fire. J Veg Sci 3:365–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szopka K, Kabała C, Karczewska A, Jezierski P, Bogacz A, Waroszewski J (2016) The pools of soil organic carbon accumulated in the surface layers of forest soils in the Karkonosze Mountains, SW Poland. Soil Sci Annu 67:46–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Werf GR, Morton DC, DeFries RS, Olivier JG, Kasibhatla PS, Jackson RB, Collatz GJ, Randerson JT (2009) CO2 emissions from forest loss. Nat Geosci 2:737–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Straaten O, Corre MD, Wolf K, Tchienkoua M, Cuellar E, Matthews RB, Veldkamp E (2015) Conversion of lowland tropical forests to tree cash crop plantations loses up to one-half of stored soil organic carbon. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112:9956–9960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Haden AC, Yang WH, DeLucia EH (2020) Soils’ dirty little secret: depth-based comparisons can be inadequate for quantifying changes in soil organic carbon and other mineral soil properties. Glob Change Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner MR, Cobbinah JR, Bosu PP (2008) Forest entomology in West Tropical Africa: forest insects of Ghana. Springer Science & Business Media, Cham

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wan Q, Zhu G, Guo H, Zhang Y, Pan H, Yong L, Ma H (2019) Influence of vegetation coverage and climate environment on soil organic carbon in the Qilian mountains. Sci Rep 9:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson RT, Noble IR, Bolin B, Ravindranath N, Verardo DJ, Dokken DJ (2000) Land use, land-use change and forestry: a special report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei X, Shao M, Gale W, Li L (2014) Global pattern of soil carbon losses due to the conversion of forests to agricultural land. Sci Rep 4:1–6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wendt J, Hauser S (2013) An equivalent soil mass procedure for monitoring soil organic carbon in multiple soil layers. Eur J Soil Sci 64:58–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yeboah D, Burton AJ, Storer AJ, Opuni-Frimpong E (2014) Variation in wood density and carbon content of tropical plantation tree species from Ghana. New for 45:35–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zádorová T, Penížek V, Vašát R, Žížala D, Chuman T, Vaněk A (2015) Colluvial soils as a soil organic carbon pool in different soil regions. Geoderma 253:122–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Owiredu EA (2007) Land tenure, market, and the establishment of forest plantations in Ghana. For Policy Econ 9:602–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Guan D, Song M (2012) Biomass and carbon storage of Eucalyptus and Acacia plantations in the Pearl River Delta, South China. For Ecol Manage 277:90–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported financially by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and assisted by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). The Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) provided technical and logistical support. The authors are grateful to Nana Yaa Nyarko-Duah, Sylvester Kuundar, Godwin Andoh Kwarkye and Esther Mensah Opoku for their assistance in field sampling and Austin Asare for helping to make study area map. Our appreciation also goes to Jennifer Eikenberry and the student technicians at CFRES Soil & Plant Laboratory at Michigan Tech in Houghton, MI, US, for further soil processing and analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Samuel Mensah Opoku, Andrew J. Burton & Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong

  2. University of Energy and Natural Resources, Bono Region, P. O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana

    Samuel Mensah Opoku & Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong

  3. CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, University, P. O. Box 63, Kumasi, Ghana

    Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong

Authors
  1. Samuel Mensah Opoku
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew J. Burton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emmanuel Opuni-Frimpong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel Mensah Opoku.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mensah Opoku, S., Burton, A.J. & Opuni-Frimpong, E. Carbon accumulation in soil layers under degraded, intact and planted forest cover types in tropical semi-deciduous and moist evergreen forests. New Forests 54, 161–177 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-022-09911-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-022-09911-3

Keywords

  • C content
  • Soil depth
  • Degraded forest
  • Intact forest
  • Plantation
  • Semi-deciduous forest
  • Moist evergreen forest

Search

Navigation