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Carbon Dynamics in Maize - Faidherbia Albida Agroforestry Systems in Zambia

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Carbon Dynamics in Maize - Faidherbia Albida Agroforestry Systems in Zambia I C E INTERUNIVERSITY PROGRAMME IN PHYSICAL LAND RESOURCES Ghent University Vrije Universiteit Brussel Belgium Carbon dynamics in maize - Faidherbia albida agroforestry systems in Zambia Promoter(s) : Master dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Prof. Dr. Ir. De Neve Stefaan Master of Science in Physical Land Resources Tutor: by : Chipatela Muyembe Floyd Yengwe Jones (MSc) Academic Year : 2015-2016 Tutor(s) : «Promotor_1» «Promotor_2» This is an unpublished M.Sc dissertation and is not prepared for further distribution. The author and the promoter give the permission to use this Master dissertation for consultation and to copy parts of it for personal use. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws, more specifically the source must be extensively specified when using results from this Master dissertation. Gent, August 2016 The Promoter(s), The Author, Prof. Dr. Ir. De Neve Stefaan Chipatela Muyembe Floyd i Acknowledgement The success of this dissertation is a result of the support and encouragements from the various people and organizations to whom I shall forever remain indebted. Many thanks for their contributions! My promoter and tutor have been a great source of mentorship, through their helpful criticism and advice, encouragement and support throughout my research. I would like to sincerely thank my promoter Professor Stefaan De Neve for giving me an opportunity to do the research under his supervision. I appreciate that amidst his busy schedules, he still made time to ensure that I was progressing in the right direction and at the right pace. I would also like to acknowledge the great support, valuable comments and guidance from my tutor, Jones Yengwe (MSc). Just like my promoter, Jones has been with me on my research starting from data collection until completion of the write-up, I will forever be grateful to him. Thank you too to Professor Steven Sleutel, whose experience with C dynamics models broadened my understanding of the subject. I would also like to give my thanks to the Belgian people through VLIR-UOS for awarding me a scholarship and giving me a chance to study at Ghent University. I will forever remain indebted to the Belgian people and live to remember the wonderful times I have spent in Ghent. Many thanks to the organizers of the program “Physical Land Resources” through the course Coordinator Pieter Powels, the program was the perfect suit for me. I would also like to acknowledge the help of the PhD students and Lab technicians who were present in the section of Soil and Nutrient Management during the time of my research. Many thanks for the help received from my colleagues, Joseph Okello, Heleen Deroo, Niranjan Phuyal, Straton Edward and Shakila Thilakarathna whom I we shared the same laboratory at the time of my research. To the rest of my classmates in the program Physical Land Resources, thank you all. Thank you to my employer, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestocks, through Zambia Agricultural Research Institute for granting me a full study leave to further my studies. In particular, I wish to thank my superiors, Mr. Chrisanty Chama, Mr. Shadreck Bwembya and Mr. Rodgers Kabiti for their support with literature review. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the almighty Jehovah for his unfailing love and protection in my life. I would like to appreciate the constant support and encouragement from my love, Kasapo Musonda, whose endless love has been a source of strength throughout my studies. May I acknowledge all those that gave me direct and indirect advice, suggestions, encouragements and moral support. The opinions presented here are all my own responsibility and so are the mistakes, errors of facts and interpretation. All efforts of other researchers used in my work are acknowledged in the text. ii Table of contents Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................................. ii Table of contents ................................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................................... v Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. vi 1.0. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Statement of Problem ................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Objectives of the study ................................................................................................................. 5 1.4. Research Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Agro-forestry in Zambia ............................................................................................................... 6 2.2. The Botany of Faidherbia albida .................................................................................................. 8 2.3. Effects of Faidherbia albida on the soil ....................................................................................... 8 2.4. Microbial Biomass and Enzymatic Activities as Soil Quality Indicators ................................... 11 2.5. Carbon Dynamics from SOM and EOM .................................................................................... 13 2.6. Stable carbon isotopes signature in the soil ................................................................................ 15 3.0. Materials and Methods ................................................................................................................ 17 3.1.2. Selection of tree replicates ................................................................................................... 19 3.1.3. Soil sampling ....................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.4. Sampling for maize residue and F. albida litter .................................................................. 21 3.2. Laboratory analyses .................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.1. General soil properties ......................................................................................................... 22 3.2.2. Carbon mineralization experiment ...................................................................................... 22 3.3. Soil biochemical and microbial analyses ................................................................................... 24 3.3.1. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) ....................................................................................... 24 3.3.2. Enzyme analyses ................................................................................................................. 25 3.3.3. Stable Carbon Isotopes analysis .......................................................................................... 26 3.4. Carbon Mineralization and Modeling ........................................................................................ 26 3.4.1. Temperature normalization model ...................................................................................... 26 3.4.2. Mineralization kinetic model ............................................................................................... 27 3.5. Statistical analysis ...................................................................................................................... 27 3.6. Notations and symbols ............................................................................................................... 28 4.0. Results ........................................................................................................................................... 29 4.1. Chemical properties of the soils and plant materials .................................................................. 29 4.2. Stability of carbon under maize – Faidherbia albida systems ................................................... 30 4.2.1. Carbon mineralization from unamended soils – Long-term canopy effect ......................... 30 iii 4.2.2. Carbon mineralization from amended soils – short term litter effect .................................. 30 4.2.3. Effect of soil texture and age of F. albida trees on carbon mineralization ......................... 35 4.2.3.1. Effect of soil texture on carbon mineralization ................................................................ 35 4.2.3.2. Effect of age of F. albida trees on carbon mineralization ................................................ 36 4.2.4. Carbon mineralization kinetics – model fit ......................................................................... 36 4.3. Soil organic carbon sources under maize – F. albida systems ................................................... 38 4.4. Effects of maize – F. albida systems on soil quality .................................................................. 40 4.4.1. Microbial biomass carbon ..................................................................................................
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