Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon in the Forests of Nepal

Rajesh Malla and Prem Raj Neupane ()
Additional contact information
Rajesh Malla: Forest Research and Training Centre (FRTC), Pokhara 33700, Nepal
Prem Raj Neupane: Center for Earth Systems Research and Sustainability (CEN) &World Forestry, University of Hamburg, D-21031 Hamburg, Germany

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the major constituent of the soil organic matter. SOC stocks are determined by several factors such as altitude, slope, aspect, canopy cover, and vegetation type. Using the Third National Forest Inventory (2010–2014) data of Nepal, we assessed SOC status in forests at a national scale for the better understanding of the SOC distribution within Nepal. In this study, we estimated SOC against different factors and tested the spatial distribution of SOC using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the forests located at a higher altitude have higher SOC accumulation. In particular, broadleaved forests exhibit a higher amount of carbon stock compared to other forest types. Moreover, forests with a larger canopy cover, located on a higher slope, and with a cooler aspect are associated with a higher accumulation of SOC. The SOC stock in the forest varies according to altitude, slope, aspect, canopy cover, and forest type, which might be attributed to the change in the microclimate of the area. The significant increase in SOC amount with the increase in slope, altitude, and crown cover helps to understand the extent of SOC distribution in forests. Broadleaved forests with a larger canopy cover in the higher altitude region have a higher SOC retention potential, which is likely to contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change by sinking more carbon into the soil.

Keywords: forest types; soil organic carbon; altitude; canopy cover; slope; aspect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/378/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/378/ (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:13:y:2024:i:3:p:378-:d:1358453

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 ().