Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 125-130 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | CATENA |
| Volume | 112 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2014 |
Abstract
Mt. Kilimanjaro attracts much scientific and public attention due to its dramatically shrinking ice caps, still known as "the white top" of Africa. In this mountain system forming a type of island within the surrounding savannah, a new phenomenon has recently been discovered. On the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Late Quaternary paleosol sequences, composed of dark or black buried soils, are widespread in the montane rainforest zone (1800-3000. m. a.s.l.). In this study we investigated in detail the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and SOC stocks in soil profiles (mostly Andosols) along two altitudinal transects, situated on both the humid southern slopes and on the drier northern slopes of the mountain.In the montane forest zone, up to 3m thick paleosol sequences are frequently found. SOC content is remarkably high, reaching values of up to more than 10%. This testifies to good preservation of soil organic matter (SOM) which may be due to such factors as rapid burial by dust, low temperatures alongside more resistant litter during glacial periods, formation of stable organo-mineral complexes and high black carbon (BC) content. The buried black soils are estimated to contain ~82kgm-2 mean SOC stocks in the montane rainforest. As compared to the SOC storage in the surrounding savannah soils of the Maasai Steppe, the buried black soils constitute a distinctive regional carbon storage hotspot.
Keywords
- Mt. Kilimanjaro, Paleosols, Quaternary, Soil organic carbon storage, Soil organic matter preservation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Earth-Surface Processes
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In: CATENA, Vol. 112, 01.2014, p. 125-130.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Buried black soils on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro as a regional carbon storage hotspot
AU - Zech, Michael
AU - Hörold, Claudia
AU - Leiber-Sauheitl, Katharina
AU - Kühnel, Anna
AU - Hemp, Andreas
AU - Zech, Wolfgang
N1 - Funding Information: We thank C. Brösike, A. Mergner, L. Palenberg for support during field and laboratory work. We are also very grateful to Prof. Gebauer and his team from the Laboratory of Isotope Biogeochemistry, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, for conducting the SOC-analyses. We gratefully acknowledge the constructive reviews which helped improve the manuscript provided by Dr. C. Küfmann, Dr. D. Sauer and Dr. S. Sedov. Susan Braun-Clarke proofread the English. Research permissions were provided by the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology. This study relied on funds from the German Research Foundation and M. Zech also gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation . Copyright: Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - Mt. Kilimanjaro attracts much scientific and public attention due to its dramatically shrinking ice caps, still known as "the white top" of Africa. In this mountain system forming a type of island within the surrounding savannah, a new phenomenon has recently been discovered. On the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Late Quaternary paleosol sequences, composed of dark or black buried soils, are widespread in the montane rainforest zone (1800-3000. m. a.s.l.). In this study we investigated in detail the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and SOC stocks in soil profiles (mostly Andosols) along two altitudinal transects, situated on both the humid southern slopes and on the drier northern slopes of the mountain.In the montane forest zone, up to 3m thick paleosol sequences are frequently found. SOC content is remarkably high, reaching values of up to more than 10%. This testifies to good preservation of soil organic matter (SOM) which may be due to such factors as rapid burial by dust, low temperatures alongside more resistant litter during glacial periods, formation of stable organo-mineral complexes and high black carbon (BC) content. The buried black soils are estimated to contain ~82kgm-2 mean SOC stocks in the montane rainforest. As compared to the SOC storage in the surrounding savannah soils of the Maasai Steppe, the buried black soils constitute a distinctive regional carbon storage hotspot.
AB - Mt. Kilimanjaro attracts much scientific and public attention due to its dramatically shrinking ice caps, still known as "the white top" of Africa. In this mountain system forming a type of island within the surrounding savannah, a new phenomenon has recently been discovered. On the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Late Quaternary paleosol sequences, composed of dark or black buried soils, are widespread in the montane rainforest zone (1800-3000. m. a.s.l.). In this study we investigated in detail the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and SOC stocks in soil profiles (mostly Andosols) along two altitudinal transects, situated on both the humid southern slopes and on the drier northern slopes of the mountain.In the montane forest zone, up to 3m thick paleosol sequences are frequently found. SOC content is remarkably high, reaching values of up to more than 10%. This testifies to good preservation of soil organic matter (SOM) which may be due to such factors as rapid burial by dust, low temperatures alongside more resistant litter during glacial periods, formation of stable organo-mineral complexes and high black carbon (BC) content. The buried black soils are estimated to contain ~82kgm-2 mean SOC stocks in the montane rainforest. As compared to the SOC storage in the surrounding savannah soils of the Maasai Steppe, the buried black soils constitute a distinctive regional carbon storage hotspot.
KW - Mt. Kilimanjaro
KW - Paleosols
KW - Quaternary
KW - Soil organic carbon storage
KW - Soil organic matter preservation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84884416671&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.catena.2013.05.015
DO - 10.1016/j.catena.2013.05.015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84884416671
VL - 112
SP - 125
EP - 130
JO - CATENA
JF - CATENA
SN - 0341-8162
ER -