Characterization of Soil Carbon Stocks in the City of Johannesburg

Kelebohile Rose Seboko, Elmarie Kotze, Johan van Tol and George van Zijl
Additional contact information
Kelebohile Rose Seboko: Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
Elmarie Kotze: Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
Johan van Tol: Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
George van Zijl: Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a crucial indicator of soil health and soil productivity. The long-term implications of rapid urbanization on sustainability have, in recent years, raised concern. This study aimed to characterize the SOC stocks in the Johannesburg Granite Dome, a highly urbanized and contaminated area. Six soil hydropedological groups; (recharge (deep), recharge (shallow), responsive (shallow), responsive (saturated), interflow (A/B), and interflow (soil/bedrock)) were identified to determine the vertical distribution of the SOC stocks and assess the variation among the soil groups. The carbon (C) content, bulk density, and soil depth were determined for all soil groups, and thereafter the SOC stocks were calculated. Organic C stocks in the A horizon ranged, on average, from 33.55 ± 21.73 t C ha −1 for recharge (deep) soils to 17.11 ± 7.62 t C ha −1 for responsive (shallow) soils. Higher C contents in some soils did not necessarily indicate higher SOC stocks due to the combined influence of soil depth and bulk density. Additionally, the total SOC stocks ranged from 92.82 ± 39.2 t C ha −1 for recharge (deep) soils to 22.81 ± 16.84 t C ha −1 for responsive (shallow) soils. Future studies should determine the SOC stocks in urban areas, taking diverse land-uses and the presence of iron (Fe) oxides into consideration. This is crucial for understanding urban ecosystem functions.

Keywords: soil quality; soil organic carbon stocks; and urban areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/1/83/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/1/83/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:1:p:83-:d:482101

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().