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Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a dominant role in soil fertility and in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The way in which land is managed directly influences SOM. The objective of this work was twofold: (1) to evaluate the potential storage of C in a plinthic luvisol in southwest Burkina Faso under three different management methods-natural savannah vegetation, continuous cropping without manure and continuous cropping with manure; and (2) to examine the factors (chemical, physical and management) determining C storage in the soil. The methodology used in the field was characterization of the environment by soil mapping, measurement of bulk density, and soil sampling. In the laboratory, the determination of the soil physical and chemical characteristics and measurement of C and N contents and particle size distribution of the SOM were accomplished. The results show that the C content in the top 30 cm was 61 Mg ha À1 under savannah as compared to 16 Mg ha À1 under continuous cropping, with the C being present mainly in the surface layer. Cow manure applied at 2 Mg DM ha À1 yr À1 for 13 years led to an increase of 9 Mg C ha À1 . Particle size analysis showed that: (a) the carbon content was highest in the clay size fraction, and (b) the method of soil management mainly influenced the C content of the coarse fractions (200-2000 lm) and the fine fractions (0-20 lm) at the surface.

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