The organic carbon stock in South African soils was estimated using existing data with reference
to master horizons, diagnostic horizons, soil forms, and land cover classes. The data used for
this study was taken from the land type survey which started in 1970 covering the whole of
South Africa. Approximately 2 200 modal profiles representing were analysed for physical and
chemical properties including organic carbon.
The results showed that the organic carbon content in the master horizons ranged on average
from 16% in the O horizon to 0.3% in the C horizons. In the diagnostic horizons, the highest
organic carbon was recorded in the topsoils and ranged on average from 21% in the organic O
to 1.4% in the orthic A horizons. However, the organic carbon content in the diagnostic subsoil
horizons ranged from 1.2% in the podzol B to 0.2% in the dorbank B horizons.
The organic carbon content was related to the soil forming factors namely climate (rainfall,
evaporation, and aridity index), topography (terrain morphological units, slope percentage, slope
type, and slope aspect) and soil texture (clay). Organic carbon related poorly with climate and
topography in both the master and diagnostic horizons, with low correlations. Organic carbon
content was positively correlated with rainfall and aridity index in the A, E, B, G, C, and R master
horizons and inversely correlated with evaporation in those horizons. Climate had an opposite
effect on organic carbon in the O master horizons.
A positive relationship between organic carbon and rainfall was found in the pedocutanic B,
prismacutanic B, soft plinthic B, red apedal B, yellow-brown apedal B, red structured B, G,
unspecified material with signs of wetness, E, neocarbonate B, neocutanic B, regic sand,
stratified alluvium, lithocutanic B, hard rock, unconsolidated material without signs of wetness,
unspecified dry material, and saprolite. The relationship between organic carbon and
evaporation was negative in those diagnostic horizons. Rainfall and aridity index related
negatively with organic carbon content and positively with evaporation in the following diagnostic
horizons: soft carbonate B, podzol B, hard plinthic B, saprolite, and the unconsolidated material
with signs of wetness.
The relationship between organic carbon and topography was not very clear in both the master
and diagnostic horizons. However, topography seemed to influence the formation of some horizons by restricting their formation to certain slope percentages. The influence of topography
on organic carbon content depends on the morphology of the master and diagnostic horizon and
underlying material.
A regression was done to study the correlation of organic carbon and the independent variables
namely: rainfall, evaporation, slope aspect, aridity index, and clay per master and diagnostic
horizon. Unfortunately most of the correlation coefficients were too low for the equations to be
used to estimate organic carbon content in South African soils.
Organic carbon in the soil forms behaved as their diagnostic topsoils. The environmental
conditions such as water content and temperature that influenced the amount of organic carbon
in the topsoils also determined the amount of organic carbon in the diagnostic subsoil horizons
of that specific soil form.
Organic carbon stocks were then estimated using three soil bulk density values namely: low =
1.30 g cm-3, average = 1.50 g cm-3, and high 1.70 g cm-3. The results revealed that the organic
carbon stocks of South African soils increased from the warmer, drier western to the cooler,
wetter eastern parts of the country. The average soil organic carbon stocks is 73 726 kg ha-1
when calculated using a soil bulk density of 1.50 g cm-3. Most soils had an organic carbon
content between 30 000 kg ha-1 and 50 000 kg ha-1. The total organic carbon of the soils of
South Africa is estimated to be 8.99 ± 0.10 Pg calculated to a depth of 0.30 m which is 0.57% of
the worldâs carbon stocks. Since the worldâs carbon stocks were calculated to 1 m depth this is
not a true representative value for the carbon stocks of South Africa in relation to the worlds.
Therefore a lower value will be expected if carbon stocks are estimated to a depth of 1 m in
South Africa.
The organic carbon stocks in the 27 land cover classes ranged from 9 Mg ha-1 in barren rock to
120.2 Mg ha-1 in forest plantations. The highest accumulation of organic carbon per unit area in
South African soils was found in the forests plantations > forests > wetlands. However the
biggest contribution to the total organic carbon stocks, was reported in the unimproved
grassland> thicket and bushland > shrubland and low Fynbos > forests.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-11162010-160256 |
| Date | 16 November 2010 |
| Creators | Ruth, Rantoa Nthatuoa |
| Contributors | Prof CW van Huyssteen, Prof CC du Preez |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-11162010-160256/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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