Carbon Sequestration Potential in Forest Soils

Soils play a major role in carbon storage for terrestrial ecosystems. These ecosystems are large stores of carbon and tropical forests occupy a significant position in these ecosystems worldwide. Concerning issues on global warming and climate change, a study on carbon storage of forest soils was conducted at Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve, Selangor, using the Yasso approach. The Yasso approach was adapted to soil carbon module of the CO2FIX model to calculate the fluxes and stocks of carbon in soil through time. The model needs estimates of litter production, information on litter quality and basic data on climate to run. Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve is a regenerating forest that has been selectively logged in 1935, and classified as a lowland forest. The preliminary simulations indicate that the long-term (for 100 years rotation) total carbon storage in the soil ranges from 298.91 to 739.97 mg C/ha. From the laboratory analysis, distinctions of carbon and nitrogen content between the soil layers were determined. Results showed that the carbon content in soil decreased with depth because many plants (stems, foliage and branches or may be some roots that are on the ground) and animals decompose near the surface, and not deep in the soil.