Carbon sequestration potential of East African Highland Banana cultivars (Musa spp. AAA-EAHB) cv. Kibuzi, Nakitembe, Enyeru and Nakinyika in Uganda
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Date
2017
Authors
Kamusingize, Daphine
Mwanjalolo Majaliwa, Jackson
Komutunga, Everline
Tumwebaze, Susan
Nowakunda, Kephas
Namanya, Priver
Kubiriba, Jerome
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management
Abstract
Despite the global interest to increase the world's carbon stocks, most carbon sequestration strategies
have largely depended on woody ecosystems whose production is threatened by the continuous
shortage of land, hence the need to explore viable alternatives. The potential of bananas to sequester
carbon has been reported but there is limited knowledge on the performance of various cultivars as
specific carbon stocks are often lost in global assessments. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring
the potential of and variability in carbon stocks of selected East African Highland Banana (EAHB)
cultivars. Plant and soil data were collected using destructive and non-destructive techniques in
30×30m2 sampling plots for 4 cultivars Kibuzi, Nakitembe, Enyeru and Nakinyika growing in two agroecological
zones of Uganda being the L.Victoria Crescent and the South-western region. Total carbon
and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks did not differ considerably across cultivars (P>0.05). However,
there was significant variation (P<0.05) in plant carbon stock being lowest in two cultivars: Nakinyika at
0.37±0.19 Mgha-1 and Nakitembe at 0.40±0.19Mgha-1; and highest in Enyeru at 1.64±0.18 Mgha-1. The
SOC stock variation difference across depth was 2.9-8.5 Mgha-1 being higher in top soil than sub-soil.
Despite the small plant carbon stock amounts, the system enables much more carbon to be stored in
the soil considering the proportion of what is contained in the plant to that in the soil across all
cultivars (0.4-2%). The study therefore recommends revision of existing carbon frameworks to
incorporate the contribution of non-woody perennials like bananas in the carbon cycle so that the poor
small scale farmers who cannot afford large acreages to establish tree plantations can also benefit from
such initiatives.
Description
Keywords
Agro-ecological zone, Growth stage, Carbon stock, Cultivars, SOC
Citation
Kamusingize, D., Majaliwa, J. M., Komutunga, E., Tumwebaze, S., Nowakunda, K., Namanya, P., & Kubiriba, J. (2017). Carbon sequestration potential of East African Highland Banana cultivars (Musa spp. AAA-EAHB) cv. Kibuzi, Nakitembe, Enyeru and Nakinyika in Uganda. Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management, 8(3), 44-51. DOI: 10.5897/JSSEM2016.0608