Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Ecosystem carbon stocks in different aged tea agroforestry systems: implications for regional ecosystem management

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Tropical Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is often grown under a canopy of trees forming a distinctive agroforestry system covering an estimated area of 3.94 million ha of land globally. Although, tea is a major commercial crop in many countries in tropical and sub-tropical regions, including China, India and Sri Lanka, tea agroforestry systems (TAFS) have remained little studied for their role in carbon management and climate change adaptation/mitigation actions. We, therefore, undertook a detailed study on the storage of organic carbon in above- and below-ground vegetation and soil under age chronosequence of TAFS in North East India. The specific aim of this study was to quantify variations in soil physical and chemical properties, carbon storage in shade trees and tea bushes, and ecosystem carbon stocks under the chronosequence of TAFS. This study has established significant variations in soil properties and carbon storage in different aged TAFS. One of the salient findings is the decrease in soil bulk density and increase in water holding capacity with the age of TAFS in the 0–50 cm depth. The total vegetation C stock (shade trees + tea bushes + litter biomass) increased with increase in the age of TAFS, and the increase was as high as 25% in > 20 years compared to younger (< 10 years old) TAFS. The ecosystem C stock estimated at 162–187 Mg ha−1 was higher than many temperate and tropical agroforestry systems suggesting TAFS may effectively contribute to Clean Development Mechanisms CDM/REDD+ mechanisms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) once standard guidelines for market mechanisms are in place.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abebe T, Sterck FJ, Wiersum KF, Bongers F (2013) Diversity, composition and density of trees and shrubs in agroforestry homegardens in Southern Ethiopia. Agroforest Syst 87:1283–1293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9637-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alegre J, Krishnamurthy L, Callo-Concha D (2004) Carbon sequestration by amazonian agroforestry systems. In: Proceedings of the first world congress of agroforestry book of abstracts. University of Florida, Institute of Food, Agricultural Sciences, Orlando

  • Allen SE, Grimshaw HW, Parkinson JA, Quarnby C (1989) Chemical analysis of ecological materials. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Brahma B, Pathak K, Lal R, Kurmi B, Das M, Nath PC, Nath AJ, Das AK (2018) Ecosystem carbon sequestration through restoration of degraded lands in north East India. Land Degrad Dev 29(1):15–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S (1997) Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: a primer. FAO forestry paper 134. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome

  • Cardinael R, Chevallier T, Cambou A (2017) Increased soil organic carbon stocks under agroforestry: a survey of six different sites in France. Agric Ecosyst Environ 236:243–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.12.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canali S, Trinchera A, Intrigliolo F, Pompili L, Nishini L, Mocali S, Torrisi B (2004) Effect of long term addition of composts and poultry manure on soil quality of citrus orchard in Southern Italy. Biol Fertil Soils 40:206–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champion HG, Seth SK (Reprinted 2005) (1968) A revised survey of the forest types of India. Natraj Publishers, Dehradun

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawoe EK, Isaac ME, Quashie-Sam J (2010) Litterfall and litter nutrient dynamics under cocoa ecosystems in lowland humid Ghana. Plant Soil 330:55–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0173-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2007) FAOSTAT data. https://www.fao.org (verified on January 2, 2014)

  • FSI (Forest Survey of India) (1996) Volume equations for forests of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Dehradun

  • Gama-Rodrigues EF, Gama-Rodrigues AC, Nair PKR (2011) Soil carbon sequestration in cacao agroforestry systems: a case study from Bahia, Brazil. Carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 85–99

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gee GW, Bauder JW (1986) Particle-size analysis. Pages 383–411 in methods of soil analysis part 1. In: Klute A (ed) Soil science society of America book series 5, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0131-4

  • Han W, Xu J, Wei K, Shi R, Ma L (2013) Soil carbon sequestration, plant nutrients and biological activities affected by organic farming system in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) fields. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 59(5):727–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.2013.833857

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2016) Climate change 2014: mitigation of climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) Intergovernmental panel on climate change. 2007. Synthesis report. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessmentreport/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf. Accessed 10 May 2011

  • Jackson ML (1958) Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobi J, Andres C, Schneider M (2013) Carbon stocks, tree diversity, and the role of organic certification in different cocoa production systems in Alto Beni. Bolivia Agrofor Syst 88:1117–1132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9643-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karak T, Paul RK, Boruah RK, Sonar I, Bordoloi B, Dutta AK, Borkotoky B (2015) Major soil chemical properties of the major tea-growing areas in India. Pedosphere 25(2):316–328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalita RM, Das AK, Nath AJ (2015) Allometric equations for estimating above and belowground biomass in Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) agroforestry system of Barak Valley, Assam, northeast India. Biomass Bioenerg 83:42–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalita RM, Das AK, Nath AJ (2016) Assessment of soil organic carbon stock under tea agroforestry system in Barak Valley, North East India. Int J Ecol Environ Sci 42(2):175–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamau DM, Spiertz JHJ, Oenema O (2008) Carbon and nutrient stocks of tea plantations differing in age, genotype and plant population density. Plant Soil 307(1–2):29–39

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim DG, Kirschbaum MUF, Beedy TL (2016) Carbon sequestration and net emissions of CH4 and N2O under agroforestry: Synthesizing available data and suggestions for future studies. Agric Ecosyst Environ 226:65–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar BM, Nair PKR (eds) (2011) Carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Wu X, Xue H, Gu B, Cheng HJ (2011) Quantifying carbon storage for tea plantations in China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 141(3&4):390–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao C, Luo Y, Fang C, Li B (2010) Ecosystem carbon stock influenced by plantation practice: implications for planting forests as a measure of climate change mitigation. PLoS One 5(5):e10867. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010867

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Leon A, Kohyama K, Takata Y, Yagi K, Umemiya Y, Ohkura T, Obara H (2015) Change in soil carbon in response to organic amendments in orchards and tea gardens in Japan. Geoderma 237–138:168–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marone D, Poirier V, Coyea M (2017) Carbon storage in agroforestry systems in the semi-arid zone of Niayes. Senegal Agroforest Syst 91:941–954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9969-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbolo A, Marie M et al (2016) The role of cocoa agroforestry systems in conserving forest tree diversity in the central region of Cameroon. Agroforest Syst 90:577–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbow C, Smith P, Skole D, Duguma L, Bustamante M (2014) Achieving mitigation and adaptation to climate change through sustainable agroforestry practices in Africa. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 6:8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minang PA, Bernard F, van Noordwijk M, Kahurani E (2011) Agroforestry in REDD+: opportunities and Challenges. ASB Policy Brief No. 26, ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Montagnini F, Nair PKR (2004) Carbon sequestration: an underexploited environmental benefit of agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 61:281–295

    Google Scholar 

  • Montanaro G, Dichio B, Bati CB, Xiloyannis C (2012) Soil management affects carbon dynamics and yield in a Mediterranean peach orchard. Agric Ecosyst Environ 161:46–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murthy IK, Gupta M, Tomar S, Munsi M, Tiwari R, Hedge GT, Ravindranath NH (2013) Carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems in India. J Earth Sci Clim Change 4:131. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7617.1000131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mavrakis E (2011) ‘Carbon Footprint’ quantification of a tea agro-ecosystem based on the development of a model of related material flows. Institute of Landscape Ecology WestphalianWilhelms—University of Münster, Münster

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR (1993) An introduction to agroforestry. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, p 499

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR, Nair VD, Kumar BM, Haile SG (2009) Soil carbon sequestration in tropical Agroforestry systems: a feasibility appraisal. Environ Sci Policy 12:1099–1111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nascimento Ramos H, Vasconcelos SS, Kato OR, Cristina Castellani D (2018) Above- and belowground carbon stocks of two organic, agroforestry-based oil palm production systems in eastern Amazonia. Agroforest Syst 92:221–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Negash M, Starr M (2015) Biomass and soil carbon stocks of indigenous agroforestry systems on the south-eastern Rift Valley escarpment, Ethiopia. Plant Soil 393:95–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2469-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Newbould PJ (1967) Methods for estimating the primary production of forests. IBP handbook no. 2. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Obi ME (1999) The physical and chemical responses of a degraded sandy clay loam soil to cover crops in southern Nigeria. Plant Soil 211(165–172):1999

    Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-Flores J, Pérez AA, Suárez YP (2018) Leaf litter and its nutrient contribution in the cacao agroforestry system. Agroforest Syst 92(2):365–374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0096-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravindranath NH, Ostwald M (2008) Carbon inventory methods handbook for greenhouse gas inventory, carbon mitigation and round wood production projects. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson WK, Pope PE, Tomlinson RT (1974) Sampling tool for taking undisturbed soil cores. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 38:855–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romano N, Santini A (2002) Water retention and storage: field. In: Dane JH, Topp GC (eds) Methods of soil analysis, part 4, physical methods. SSSA Book Series N.5, Madison, USA, pp 721–738

  • Roncal-Garcia S, Soto-Pinto L, Castellanos-Albores J (2008) Sistemas agroforestales y almacenamiento de carbon en comunidadesindı´genas de Chiapas. Interciencia 33:200–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Sathaye JA, Makundi WR, Andrasko K, Boer R, Ravindranath NH, Sudha P (2001) Carbon mitigation potential and costs of forestry options in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, The Philippines and Tanzania. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 6:185–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sileshi GW, Mafongoya PL, Akinnifesi FK, Phiri E, Chirwa P, Beedy T, Makumba W, Nyamadzawo G, Njoloma J, Wuta M, Nyamugafata P, Jiri O (2014) Agroforestry: fertilizer trees. In: Van Alfen NK (ed) Encyclopaedia of agriculture and food systems, vol 1. Elsevier, San Diego, pp 222–234

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Soto-Pinto L, Anzueto M, Mendoza J (2010) Carbon sequestration through agroforestry in indigenous communities of Chiapas. Mexico Agrofor Syst 78:39–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-009-9247-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka (2003) TRI Advisory Circular, Serial No 3/03, Talawakeie, Sri Lanka

  • Thomas GW (1996) Soil pH and soil acidity. In: Bigham JM (ed) Methods of soil analysis: part 3—chemical methods. Soil science society of America book series no. 5. Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI, pp 475–490.

  • Wang H, Xu RK, Wang N, Li XH (2010) Soil acidification of Alfisols as influenced by tea cultivation in eastern China. Pedosphere 20(6):799–806

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xie TT, Su PX, An LZ, Shi R, Zhou ZL (2017) Carbon stocks and biomass production of three different agroforestry systems in the temperate desert region of northwestern China. Agroforest Syst 91:239–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9923-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Rosekandy Tea Estate Management for their cooperation and support for the fulfilment of the study. We are thankful to the Tea Research Association, Cachar Advisory Centre for providing meteorological data for the study period. We are grateful to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, Grant no. 38(1349)/13/EMR-II), New Delhi for financial support to undertake this research work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, 788011, India

    Rinku Moni Kalita, Ashesh Kumar Das & Arun Jyoti Nath

  2. School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 4041, South Africa

    Gudeta W. Sileshi

Authors
  1. Rinku Moni Kalita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashesh Kumar Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gudeta W. Sileshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Arun Jyoti Nath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arun Jyoti Nath.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kalita, R.M., Das, A.K., Sileshi, G.W. et al. Ecosystem carbon stocks in different aged tea agroforestry systems: implications for regional ecosystem management. Trop Ecol 61, 203–214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-020-00084-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-020-00084-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation