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Effect of the replacement of tropical forests with tree plantations on soil organic carbon levels in the Jomoro district, Ghana

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Abstract

Background and aims

In the Jomoro district in Ghana, tree plantations were the first cause of deforestation in the past, drastically reducing the area occupied by primary forests. The aim of this study was to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) losses due to a change in land use from primary forest to tree plantations (cocoa, coconut, rubber, oil palm) on the different substrates of the district. Secondary forests and mixed plantations were also included in the study.

Methods

Soils were sampled at different depths up to 100 cm along a series of chronosequences in each of the three substrates (Granite, Lower Birrimian and Tertiary Sands) present in the area.

Results

The highest SOC losses in the 0–30 cm layer were caused by the conversion of primary forests to tree plantations: cocoa −61 % of the original SOC stock, coconut −55 %, rubber −35 % and oil palm 28 %, while mixed plantations and secondary forests showed a loss of 23 % and 21 % of the original SOC stock, respectively. C losses were less apparent from the entire profile (to a depth of 100 cm).

Conclusions

All conversions to tree plantations caused substantial SOC losses, comparable to the conversion of forests to agricultural systems. Secondary forests and mixed plantations were the only sustainable land uses that restricted SOC losses considerably.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the ERC grant GHG Africa no. 247349. The authors gratefully acknowledge Balangtaa C (park manager), the park rangers, Cudjoe E, Cobbiena J, Mensah JJ, the chiefs of the various villages for their precious support during the sampling campaign and Prof. De Angelis P, at the University of La Tuscia, for CN analyses. A special acknowledgment is for Tobin B. for critically reading the manuscript and for English editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest System (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, via San C. De Lellis s.n.c., 01100, Viterbo, Italy

    Tommaso Chiti, Elisa Grieco, Lucia Perugini & Riccardo Valentini

  2. Euromediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Via Augusto Imperatore 16, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Tommaso Chiti, Elisa Grieco, Lucia Perugini, Ana Rey & Riccardo Valentini

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

    Ana Rey

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  1. Tommaso Chiti
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  2. Elisa Grieco
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  3. Lucia Perugini
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  4. Ana Rey
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  5. Riccardo Valentini
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Correspondence to Tommaso Chiti.

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Responsible Editor: Yong Chao Liang.

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Chiti, T., Grieco, E., Perugini, L. et al. Effect of the replacement of tropical forests with tree plantations on soil organic carbon levels in the Jomoro district, Ghana. Plant Soil 375, 47–59 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1928-1

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