Land use affects soil biochemical properties in Mt. Kilimanjaro region

Kevin Z. Mganga*, Bahar S. Razavi, Yakov Kuzyakov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Microbial parameters have been used to monitor changes in soil quality. Soils from four land use systems common in East Africa and present in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region: (1) montane forest, (2) savannah (3) maize fields and (4) Chagga homegardens were used in laboratory incubations to assess the effects of landuse changes on soil quality. Soil organic matter mineralization and the following microbial parameters: microbial biomass C, mineralization quotient, metabolic quotient and activities of four enzymes: β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, phosphatase and chitinase were determined. Microbial biomass C content, β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase and chitinase activities were higher in natural systems compared to agricultural soils. High phosphatase activity observed in all land use types reflected strong phosphorus limitation in andic soils of the Mt. Kilimanjaro region. Chitinase activity in montane forest soils was 3 times higher than in Chagga homegardens. Mineralization quotient and cellobiohydrolase activity best exhibited the effect of land-use changes on soil quality in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region. Cellobiohydrolase activity was up to 3 times higher under natural ecosystems compared to agroecosystems. A high percentage of microbial biomass C content in total organic C and low metabolic quotient were observed in Chagga homegarden soils. Soil enzymes (especially cellobiohydrolase) best distinguished between natural and agricultural ecosystems, and are therefore useful for monitoring changes in soil quality. In conclusion, the measured microbial parameters clearly show that the microbial organisms in traditional Chagga homegardens system have high substrate use efficiency. This demonstrates that traditional agroforestry systems promotes soil fertility and are more suitable for agricultural production in the tropics compared to monocropping systems like maize plantations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)22-29
Number of pages8
JournalCatena
Volume141
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (Research Unit 1246 - KiLi). We also thank the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Kenya and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the scholarship award to Kevin Z. Mganga. The authors would like to thank Karin Schmidt and Anita Kriegel for laboratory assistance. We would also like to thank Kyle Mason-Jones for his valuable comments on the manuscript and English editing and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (Research Unit 1246 - KiLi). We also thank the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Kenya and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the scholarship award to Kevin Z. Mganga. The authors would like to thank Karin Schmidt and Anita Kriegel for laboratory assistance. We would also like to thank Kyle Mason-Jones for his valuable comments on the manuscript and English editing and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Keywords

  • Agroforestry
  • Chagga homegardens
  • Enzyme activity
  • Metabolic quotient
  • Microbial biomass content
  • Mineralization quotient

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