Carbon and nitrogen stocks in soils under different forms of use in the cerrado

Abstract

The soil is an important component in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes caused by different types of land use on the C and N stocks in areas of Cerrado at different depths: area under conventional tillage, no-tillage, grazing, eucalyptus and area under native vegetation of Cerrado in the municipality of Luis Eduardo Magalhães, BA, Brazil. The highest C content was found for no-tillage area in the surface layer up to 10 cm; however, there was a decrease in its content along the depths. Areas under no-tillage had lower values ​of C in the surface layer (0-5 cm) and below 20 cm. Among these, C stocks were significantly lower compared to the use of grass and eucalyptus at the depth of up to 40 cm. Considering the depth of 0-60 cm, the highest C stock was found in areas under native vegetation, 62.81 Mg ha-1, followed by the area under cultivation with eucalyptus, 60.70 Mg ha-1. The lowest C stocks were found in areas under conventional use, 44.87 Mg ha-1. Conventional planting reduced N stocks by up to 61 and 56% when compared to areas under native Cerrado vegetation and eucalyptus plantations, respectively, both at a depth of up to 10 cm. Therefore, land use practices such as eucalyptus cultivation and no-tillage contribute to C and N storage over time.