International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: The increasing threat of climate change has heightened the importance of soil carbon sequestration as a vital ecosystem service. Land use types significantly influence soil carbon storage, yet the magnitude and direction of this impact remain poorly understood in many regions, particularly in sub-Saharan African communities such as Ikwo.
Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the influence of land use types on soil carbon sequestration in soils under different land use types in Ikwo, Ebonyi state, South-East, Nigeria.
Method: The experimental design is 4*3*2 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Four different land use types viz; forest, fallow, grass land and continuously cultivated soils) were randomly selected. Soil samples were randomly collected from each land use type at the depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm using auger but undisturbed samples for determination of bulk density were collected with core samplers. Small portions of the samples were air dried, crushed and sieved using a 2-mm sieve in preparation for laboratory analyses. Data obtained were subjected to ANOVA. Results: The results obtained showed that the soil in the study area is predominantly sandy and sandy loam in texture and slightly acidic. The soil textural fractions of sand, silt and clay contents at 0-15cm ranged from 61.30 – 69.30 gkg 1, 13.50 – 23.50 gkg-1, and 15.20 – 23.20 gkg-1 in the four different land use types. The proportions of sand, silt and clay contents of 15-30cm ranged from 55.30 – 61.30 gkg-1, 15.50 – 25.40cm gkg-1 and 19.20 – 25.23 gkg-1 across all the land use types studied. The carbon storage at 0-15 cm was as follows; Forest Land = 2735gC/ha, Fallow land = 2713gC/ha, Grass land =1886gC/ha and continuous cultivated land =1368gC/ha.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the land use types have significant influence on soil properties and carbon sequestration. Forest, fallow and grass lands had higher quantities of carbon when compared with continuously cultivated lands, therefore should be encouraged and practiced while continuously cultivated land should only be practiced with organic amendment for sustainable soil productivity.
Unique Contribution: The study has shown that different land use types have capacity to store nutrients especially soil organic carbon which help to improve soil physicochemical properties which sustain the production of agri-food. It showed the need to encourage forestry, fallow, grassland especially in this climate change. The nutrients storage was more in rainy season than in dry season. Farmers are encouraged to adopt such land use types practices to improve soil productivity and mitigate climate change effects. Key recommendation: The study recommended that the various land use types should be practiced in this climate change era only that the continuously cultivated land should be practiced with regular organic matter amendments for sustainable soil productivity.