Anthropogenic Disturbances Superimpose Climate Effects on Soil Organic Carbon in Savanna Woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa: R-codes

This page lists all metadata that was entered for this dataset. You can download the dataset.

Feature
Citation
Citation Options
Identification
Title:Main Title: Anthropogenic Disturbances Superimpose Climate Effects on Soil Organic Carbon in Savanna Woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa: R-codes
Description:Abstract: R-Script for Savanna ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) harbor substantial yet relatively unexplored reserves of soil organic carbon (SOC). Our study unravels for the first time the interplay between climate, reference soil groups (RSGs), and anthropogenic disturbances in shaping SOC dynamics in these ecosystems. We analyzed SOC along climosequences in natural woodlands in Mozambique and Zambia, with mean annual temperature (MAT; 20-24°C) and precipitation (MAP; 365-1227 mm). Anthropogenic disturbances were assessed through comprehensive field surveys and remote sensing of vegetation and indices changes. MAT and evapotranspiration (PET) had no discernible effect on SOC. Bulk SOC, particulate organic matter (POM), and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) stocks in the topsoil (0-10 cm) increased with MAP, though this relationship was not significant for subsoil. MAP explained only 35% of topsoil SOC variability, limited by anthropogenic disturbances, which raised SOC stocks in the dry savanna but resulted in SOC losses at > 600 mm MAP, and extended into subsoil. For sites with little disturbance, in the past decades, there were RSG-specific effects of MAP on SOC, explaining up to 85% of data variability. In disturbed sites, human presence altered the C balance to an extent that, as a rough estimate, could account for up to 2.6 Gt CO2-C loss over 20 years in wetter sites, with another 2.4 Gt CO2-C at risk as populations spread into these otherwise pristine environments. Accurate modelling of climate-change effects on the C cycle must, therefore, include the transformative impacts of current human activities, such as wood harvesting and grazing
Identifier:10.5880/TRR228DB.30 (DOI)
Related Resource:Is New Version Of 10.5880/TRR228DB.23 (DOI)
Responsible Party
Creators:Felicidade Jorge (Author), Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann (Author), Melanie Braun (Author), Nkumbu Mutwale (Author), Lydia Chabala (Author), Wulf Amelung (Author)
Publisher:TRR228 Database (TRR228DB)
Publication Year:2025
Topic
TRR228 Topic:Ecology
Related Subproject:A1
Subject:Keyword: Soil Organic Carbon
Geogr. Information Topic:Environment
File Details
Filename:Jorge_et_al_R_Codes.pdf
Data Type:Workflow - R-Markdown
File Size:203 KB
Date:Created: 06.01.2025
Mime Type:application/pdf
Data Format:PDF
Language:English
Status:Completed
Constraints
Download Permission:Free
General Access and Use Conditions:According to the TRR228DB data policy agreement.
Access Limitations:According to the TRR228DB data policy agreement.
Licence:[Creative Commons] Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Geographic
Specific Information - Report
Report Date:6th of August, 2024
Report Type:Other
Report City:Bonn
Report Institution:University of Bonn, INRES
Metadata Details
Metadata Creator:Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann
Metadata Created:06.01.2025
Metadata Last Updated:06.01.2025
Subproject:A1
Funding Phase:2
Metadata Language:English
Metadata Version:V50
Metadata Export
Metadata Schema:
Dataset Statistics
Page Visits:17
Metadata Downloads:0
Dataset Downloads:0
Dataset Activity
Feature