Pushp Intern Synop

Synopsis for International Training
Name of Student : PUSHPENDRA KUMAR
Enrolement No/Id. No. : CA- 10631/2017
Department : Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry
Major Advisor : Dr. S.D Dubey
Title: Assessment of organic carbon pools and stock under different land uses
Introduction:
Soil stores the largest amount of organic carbon (OC) in terrestrial ecosystems, with total
amounts of OC two or threefold more than in either terrestrial vegetation or the atmosphere
(Batjes, 1996; Eswaran et al., 1993; Lal, 2004; Schmidt et al., 2011). Preservation, or release, of
this large carbon pool has been considered a key factor in controlling atmospheric CO2
concentration (Pan et al., 2003). Recently, increasing attention to climate change, caused by
exceeded emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, has strengthened interest in soil
carbon sequestration as a strategy to offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions (Lenka and Lal, 2013).
Soils, especially those with low OC content but fine texture or those that have lost substantial
amounts of OC, could have a high potential for OC sequestration by improving land
management (Kalbitz et al., 2013; Wiesmeier et al., 2015; Wissing et al., 2011). Globally,
agricultural soils have the potential to sequester approximately 5500–6000 Mt CO2-eq.yr−1 by
2030 due to their current low level of OC (Smith et al., 2008). In addition, the soil organic
carbon (SOC) is closely related to soil quality and productivity since a high content of SOC
significantly improves soil structure conditions and nutrient levels (Hati et al., 2007; Tiessen et
al., 1994). Therefore, strategies for enhancing the SOC pool are required not only to increase soil
productivity but also to mitigate global warming, providing a “winwin” benefit (Lal, 2004).
SOC is generally used as a sensitivity indicator to evaluate the effects of land use change and
land management on soil quality (Cui et al., 2012; Tiessen et al., 1994). The SOC pool is divided
into labile, intermediate, and passive pools based on their stability and residence time (Cheng et
al., 2007; Von et al., 2008). Generally, these subpools respond differently to environmental
changes. Changes in total SOC in the short- and medium-term are generally difficult to detect
because of the large background volume of the relatively stable SOC (Gregorich et al., 1994;
Wang et al., 2014a). The labile SOC pool, however, is more sensitive to environmental changes
than the total SOC pool and thus has been suggested as an early indicator of changes in SOC
caused by different soil management practices (Ottoy et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2006; Weil et al.,
2003; Yu et al., 2017). Permanganate-oxidizable carbon (POxC), released by the oxidation of
soil with 333Mm KMnO4, accounts for a small proportion of the total SOC (Wang et al., 2015)
but is the active SOC fraction that can be easily decomposed by soil microbes as their energy
source for metabolic activity (Janzen et al., 1992). Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the
soil POxC pool size and its driving factors in different ecosystems could have significant
implications for SOC stability and thus land management practices (Wang et al., 2014a)
MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.4 Soil analysis
3.4.1 Soil pH
The soil pH was determined in 1:2 soil-water suspensions using an Elico-glass electrode pH meter
(Jackson 1967).
3.4.2 Electrical Conductivity
The electrical conductivity of the soil samples was determined in 1:2 soil-water suspension equilibrated
after 24 hours using a conductivity bridge (Richard 1954).
3.4.3 Soil texture
Particle size distribution was determined by International Pipette method (Gee and Bauder 1986).
3.4.4 Bulk Density
For the determination of bulk density fresh weight of each sample collected by soil core sampler was
taken in the field. Soil mass was determined by subtracting amount of moisture from fresh weight and
volume was calculated from core dimension. Bulk density was determined by dividing the soil mass by
the volume and express as Mg m-3.
3.4.6 Available N
The available nitrogen (kg ha-1) in soil samples was determined by the method of Subbiah and Asija
(1956).
3.4.7 Available P
The available phosphorus (kg ha-1) in soil samples was determined by following the procedure of Olsen et
al. (1954).
3.4.8 Available K
Available potassium (kg ha-1) content in soil was estimated by extraction with neutral normal ammonium
acetate and determined on a Flame Photometer (Merwin and Peech 1950).
3.4.9 Cation exchange capacity
Cation exchange capacity (CEC) was determined by using 1N ammonium acetate method given by
Jackson (1967).
3.4.10 Soil carbon pools
3.4.10.1 Soil organic carbon
Soil organic carbon (SOC) was determined by Walkey and Black’s (1934) rapid titration method.
3.4.10.2 Total organic carbon

Total organic carbon (TOC) content was determined by wet oxidation method of Walkley and Black
(1934). To overcome the concern of incomplete digestion of the organic matter in Walkley Black method,
TOC in soil is calculated by multiplication factor 1.28 for arid and semi-arid region of Indo-Gangetic
Plain (Bhattacharyya et al., 2015).
3.4.10.3 Physical fraction of soil organic matter
Air dried and sieved soil samples were separated into the following two fractions as method described by
Benbi et al. (2012).
Coarse particulate organic matter (>250 µm)
Fine particulate organic matter (53-250 µm)
The 50 gm soil was dispersed in 150 ml of 0.5 percent sodium hexa metaphosphate solution by shaking
for 15 h on a reciprocal shaker. The dispersed soil sample was passed through a set of 250 and 53 µm
sieves. The retained material on the 250 µm sieve consisted of coarse particulate organic matter (cPOM)
and coarse sand (250-2000 µm). The material retained on the 53 µm sieve comprised fine particulate
organic matter (fPOM) and fine sand (53-250 µm). The material retained on the sieve was dried at 40 oC
in a hot air-oven after rinsing several times with water. The cPOM was separated from sand by dry
panning and remained sand was removed by hand picking. The slurry passed thorough 53 µm sieve
comprising silt and clay particles and mineral associated organic matter was centrifuged at 8000 rpm for
10 minutes and the solution was decanted. The mineral matter was dried at 40 oC, weighed. The dried
cPOM, and fPOM fractions were ground and analyzed for total carbon by dichromate digestion method
modified by Walkley and Black and rapid titration method as described by Nelson and Sommers (1996).
3.4.10.4 Microbial biomass carbon
Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) was estimated by method described by (Vance et al., 1987). Twenty
gram of soil from each samples were weighted into 50 ml capacity beakers. There were three replicate
with each soil sample. The soil was fumigated with 50 ml of ethanol free chloroform in a desiccator.
Desiccator was evacuated with water jet pump. After 24 h of incubation at room temperature, fumigant
(Chloroform) was removed. The soils were extracted with 80 ml potassium sulphate (0.5 M) for 30
minutes on a rotary shaker at 160 rpm and filtered simultaneously. The replicates each of unfumigated
soil were extracted similarly at the time fumigation commenced. Eight ml of filtrate was refluxed with 2
ml of K2Cr2O7 and 15 ml of acid mixture for half h on hot plate at 150 o C. Contents were transferred into
flask and tubes were washed with distilled water. Three drops of indicator solution was added and titrated
with ferrous ammonium sulphate solution.
3.4.12 Soil organic carbon stock

Soil organic carbon stock was estimated by following equation as per methodology given by (Benbi et al.,
2012).
{SOC stock (Mg ha-1 C) = Organic carbon (%) × Bulk density (Mg m-3) × Soil Depth (m) × 100}.
References
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Cheng, L., Leavitt, S., Kimball, B., Pinter, P., Ottman, M., Matthias, A., Wall, G., Brooks,
T., Williams, D., Thompson, T., 2007. Dynamics of labile and recalcitrant soil carbon
pools in a sorghum free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) agroecosystem. Soil Biol.
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Lal, R., 2004. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security.
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SYNOPSIS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING
ON
TOPIC: Assessment of organic carbon pools and stock under different

land uses
Submitted by: Under the guidance of
Pushpendra Kumar Dr. S.D. Dubey
I.D. No. CA-10631/17 Assistant Professor
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry
CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

AND TECHNOLOGY, KANPUR-208002, (U.P.)

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Synopsis for International Training

Name of Student : PUSHPENDRA KUMAR

Enrolement No/Id. No. : CA- 10631/2017

Department : Soil Science and Agril. Chemistry

Major Advisor : Dr. S.D Dubey

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.4.10.2 Total organic carbon

3.4.12 Soil organic carbon stock

TOPIC: Assessment of organic carbon pools and stock under different

Submitted by: Under the guidance of

Pushpendra Kumar Dr. S.D. Dubey

I.D. No. CA-10631/17 Assistant Professor

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry

CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

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