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Acacia senegal, soil organic carbon and nitrogen contents : a study in north Kordofan, Sudan

Jakubaschk, Caren (2002) In Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser
Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Abstract
In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approved human impact
(mainly through the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2)) on global warming. The Kyoto
Protocol is a global contract that proposes the reduction of CO2 and five other
greenhouse gases by 2012 to at least 5% below the level of 1990. One reduction
strategy included in the Protocol is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It
suggests that industrialized countries invest in projects in developing countries that
sequester carbon and promote sustainable development in the host country. A
controversial issue within the Protocol is the acceptance of carbon sequestration in
sinks (soils and vegetation) as a means to reduce atmospheric CO2.
This master thesis was... (More)
In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approved human impact
(mainly through the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2)) on global warming. The Kyoto
Protocol is a global contract that proposes the reduction of CO2 and five other
greenhouse gases by 2012 to at least 5% below the level of 1990. One reduction
strategy included in the Protocol is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It
suggests that industrialized countries invest in projects in developing countries that
sequester carbon and promote sustainable development in the host country. A
controversial issue within the Protocol is the acceptance of carbon sequestration in
sinks (soils and vegetation) as a means to reduce atmospheric CO2.
This master thesis was conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental
Studies at Lund University (MICLU) in the context of carbon sequestration in soils of
semi-arid regions. MICLU’s research is concentrated on North Kordofan, Sudan, a
region suffering from severe environmental degradation.
The basic idea of the study was to investigate if soils beneath Acacia senegal have the
potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) on a higher level than other land use
types. Acacia senegal is a leguminous tree species traditionally cultivated during
fallow periods. Fieldwork was carried out during February 2002 and included
interviews with farmers, soil sampling and biomass measurements. The thesis focused
on the following questions: (1) Does Acacia senegal influence SOC and nitrogen
content of the topsoil? (2) Does nitrogen influence the SOC content beneath Acacia
Senegal stands? (3) Are SOC contents simulated by the Introductory Carbon Balance
Model (ICBM) similar to my field observations?
The study shows that: (1) There is a significant difference between SOC and nitrogen
content in the topsoil of fallow fields with Acacia senegal and that of crop fields. (2)
There is a significant positive correlation between SOC and nitrogen content under
both fallow fields with Acacia senegal and under undisturbed sites without Acacia
senegal. (3) The SOC content simulated by the ICBM does not coincide with the SOC
content measured in 2002.
The number of soil samples taken was small and further research has to be done to
confirm the results of this study. The ICBM has to be calibrated to semi-arid
conditions with a time series of a well-investigated area before it can be used as a
meaningful tool for soil carbon simulations. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning: Under året 2001 kom forskare i hela världen överens om att globala
klimatförändringar existerar och att människliga aktiviteter har påverkat dem,
framförallt genom utsläpp av koldioxid (CO2). Kyoto Protokollet är en global
överenskommelse som kräver en minskning av CO2 utsläpp (med 1990 som basår)
och fem andra växthusgaser med 5% fram till 2012. Ett sätt som nämns i Kyoto
Protokollet att reducera kolutsläpp är den så kallade Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM). CDM baseras på att industriländer investerar i projekt i utvecklingsländer
som tar upp kol och samtidigt främja hållbar utveckling i landet. En kontroversiell idé
inom Kyoto Protokollet är kolsänkor (marken och vegetationen) som en... (More)
Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning: Under året 2001 kom forskare i hela världen överens om att globala
klimatförändringar existerar och att människliga aktiviteter har påverkat dem,
framförallt genom utsläpp av koldioxid (CO2). Kyoto Protokollet är en global
överenskommelse som kräver en minskning av CO2 utsläpp (med 1990 som basår)
och fem andra växthusgaser med 5% fram till 2012. Ett sätt som nämns i Kyoto
Protokollet att reducera kolutsläpp är den så kallade Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM). CDM baseras på att industriländer investerar i projekt i utvecklingsländer
som tar upp kol och samtidigt främja hållbar utveckling i landet. En kontroversiell idé
inom Kyoto Protokollet är kolsänkor (marken och vegetationen) som en möjlighet att
minska atmosfäriskt CO2.
Denna magisteruppsats skrevs i samarbete med Miljövetenskapligt Centrum vid
Lunds Universitet (MICLU). MICLUs projekt är koncentrerade på kol-upptagning i
marker i semi-arida områden. Forskning utförs i Norra Kordofan, ett område med
stora miljöproblem i Sudans Sahel region.
Grundidén med min studie är att undersöka om marken under Acacia senegal kan ta
upp förhållandesvis mer kol än andra markanvändningstyper. Acacia senegal är ett
kvävefixerande träd som odlas traditionellt under trädesperioden. Fältarbetet utfördes
i februari 2002 och bestod dels ut av intervjuer med bönder, men också av jordprover
och mätningar av biomassan. Mitt arbete fokuserade på följande frågeställningar: (1)
Påverkar Acacia senegal kol- och kvävehalten i det översta markskiktet? (2) Påverkar
kvävehalten i det översta markskiktet kolhalten under Acacia senegal? (3) Är de
kolvärden som jag simulerade med Introductory Carbon Balance Model (ICBM) lika
med mina mätningar?
Resultaten visar att: (1) Kol- och kvävehalten i översta markskiktet skiljer sig
signifikant mellan fält i träda med Acacia senegal och odlade fält. (2) Det finns en
signifikant korrelation mellan kol- och kvävehalten i både under fält i träda med
Acacia senegal och under fält med ostörd vegetation. (3) De kolvärden som
simulerades med ICBM stämmer inte överens med mina mätningar.
Antalet jordprover var för små och mer forskning måste genomföras för att kunna
konfirmera mina resultat. ICBM måste anpassas till semi-arida förhållande genom att
kalibrera den med data serier tagit ur ett semi-arid område som löper över en lång
tidsperiod. Sedan kunde ICBM betecknas som ett användbart redskap för simuleringar
av kolhalt i mark. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Jakubaschk, Caren
supervisor
organization
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
naturgeografi, geomorfologi, climatology, cartography, pedology, geomorphology, semi-arid regions, physical geography, Africa, Sudan
publication/series
Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser
report number
91
funder
Centre for Environmental Studies, Lund University (MICLU)
language
English
id
1333031
date added to LUP
2005-10-24 00:00:00
date last changed
2011-12-29 14:26:37
@misc{1333031,
  abstract     = {{In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approved human impact
(mainly through the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2)) on global warming. The Kyoto
Protocol is a global contract that proposes the reduction of CO2 and five other
greenhouse gases by 2012 to at least 5% below the level of 1990. One reduction
strategy included in the Protocol is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It
suggests that industrialized countries invest in projects in developing countries that
sequester carbon and promote sustainable development in the host country. A
controversial issue within the Protocol is the acceptance of carbon sequestration in
sinks (soils and vegetation) as a means to reduce atmospheric CO2.
This master thesis was conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental
Studies at Lund University (MICLU) in the context of carbon sequestration in soils of
semi-arid regions. MICLU’s research is concentrated on North Kordofan, Sudan, a
region suffering from severe environmental degradation.
The basic idea of the study was to investigate if soils beneath Acacia senegal have the
potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) on a higher level than other land use
types. Acacia senegal is a leguminous tree species traditionally cultivated during
fallow periods. Fieldwork was carried out during February 2002 and included
interviews with farmers, soil sampling and biomass measurements. The thesis focused
on the following questions: (1) Does Acacia senegal influence SOC and nitrogen
content of the topsoil? (2) Does nitrogen influence the SOC content beneath Acacia
Senegal stands? (3) Are SOC contents simulated by the Introductory Carbon Balance
Model (ICBM) similar to my field observations?
The study shows that: (1) There is a significant difference between SOC and nitrogen
content in the topsoil of fallow fields with Acacia senegal and that of crop fields. (2)
There is a significant positive correlation between SOC and nitrogen content under
both fallow fields with Acacia senegal and under undisturbed sites without Acacia
senegal. (3) The SOC content simulated by the ICBM does not coincide with the SOC
content measured in 2002.
The number of soil samples taken was small and further research has to be done to
confirm the results of this study. The ICBM has to be calibrated to semi-arid
conditions with a time series of a well-investigated area before it can be used as a
meaningful tool for soil carbon simulations.}},
  author       = {{Jakubaschk, Caren}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Lunds universitets Naturgeografiska institution - Seminarieuppsatser}},
  title        = {{Acacia senegal, soil organic carbon and nitrogen contents : a study in north Kordofan, Sudan}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}