Buried black soils on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro as a regional carbon storage hotspot

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Michael Zech - , University of Bayreuth, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Author)
  • Claudia Hörold - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Katharina Leiber-Sauheitl - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Anna Kühnel - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Andreas Hemp - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Wolfgang Zech - , University of Bayreuth (Author)

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.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)125-130
Number of pages6
JournalCatena
Volume112
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2014
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-9586-0390/work/170107095

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Mt. Kilimanjaro, Paleosols, Quaternary, Soil organic carbon storage, Soil organic matter preservation

Library keywords