The effects of climate on decomposition of cattle, sheep and goat manure in Kenyan tropical pastures

Zhu, Yuhao; Merbold, Lutz; Leitner, Sonja; Pelster, David E.; Okoma, Sheila Abwanda; Ngetich, Felix K.; Onyango, Alice A.; Pellikka, Petri; Butterbach‐Bahl, Klaus

doi:10.1007/s11104-020-04528-x

Cited by 41 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…At the dry climate of KAZA, the C loss from the dung will largely occur as CO 2 , or it is taken away by small animals such as beetle and termites (Andriuzzi & Wall, 2018). Yet, there are also continued dung‐C reimports, constantly replenishing the pool and compensating the losses (Zhu et al, 2020), that is, under steady‐state conditions the amount of C in the dung is withdrawn from the atmosphere irrespectively of the dung turnover time. Future studies should thus include the amount of dung C into climate change mitigation calculations, because even this labile dung C may add to climate change mitigation if the decomposing dung is continuously replaced by fresh one.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation with elevated elephant densities sequesters carbon in soils despite losses of woody biomass

Sandhage‐Hofmann

Linstädter

Kindermann

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Nature conservation and restoration in terrestrial ecosystems is often focused on increasing the numbers of megafauna, expecting them to have positive impacts on ecological self‐regulation processes and biodiversity. In sub‐Saharan Africa, conservation efforts also aspire to protect and enhance biodiversity with particular focus on elephants. However, elephant browsing carries the risk of woody biomass losses. In this context, little is known about how increasing elephant numbers affects carbon stocks in soils, including the subsoils. We hypothesized that (1) increasing numbers of elephants reduce tree biomass, and thus the amount of C stored therein, resulting (2) in a loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). If true, a negative carbon footprint could limit the sustainability of elephant conservation from a global carbon perspective. To test these hypotheses, we selected plots of low, medium, and high elephant densities in two national parks and adjacent conservancies in the Namibian component of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Area (KAZA), and quantified carbon storage in both woody vegetation and soils (1 m). Analyses were supplemented by the assessment of soil carbon isotopic composition. We found that increasing elephant densities resulted in a loss of tree carbon storage by 6.4 t ha−1. However, and in contrast to our second hypothesis, SOC stocks increased by 4.7 t ha−1 with increasing elephant densities. These higher SOC stocks were mainly found in the topsoil (0–30 cm) and were largely due to the formation of SOC from woody biomass. A second carbon input source into the soils was megaherbivore dung, which contributed with 0.02–0.323 t C ha−1 year−1 to ecosystem carbon storage in the low and high elephant density plots, respectively. Consequently, increasing elephant density does not necessarily lead to a negative C footprint, as soil carbon sequestration and transient C storage in dung almost compensate for losses in tree biomass.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation with elevated elephant densities sequesters carbon in soils despite losses of woody biomass

Sandhage‐Hofmann

Linstädter

Kindermann

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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“…Cow excreta hold a large amount of water, facilitating the bacterial colonies to decompose down and give off their nutrients slowly [ 5 ]. However, it is also reported that cow excreta decompose more rapidly than goat excreta [ 29 ]. It may be due to the composition of food (grass).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Vertebrate Excreta on Attraction, Oviposition and Development of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Rajapaksha

Jayatunga

Ganehiarachchi

2021

Insects

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Aedes albopictus is an important vector of dengue worldwide. Eliminating dengue in Sri Lanka depends entirely on controlling the vector and human-vectorhuman–vector contact. Thus, studying the bionomics and behavior of Ae. albopictus is paramount. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the excreta of cow, goat and pig on the attraction, oviposition and development of Ae. albopictus. Bioassay chambers determined the mosquito stimulatory response. Ovitraps determined Ae. albopictus oviposition preference to excreta singly, in combination and on fermentation. The excreta effect on larval development was also determined. The results revealed that Ae. albopictus gravid females were significantly attracted to goat excreta but were repelled by pig excreta. The oviposition preference was highest for cow excreta and lowest for pig excreta. For excreta combinations, the Cow+Goat combination increased the oviposition while the Pig+Goat combination reduced the oviposition. The oviposition preference of Ae. albopictus increased with the rate of fermentation. The pig excreta increased the Ae. albopictus larval mortality, larval and pupal duration and reduced adult fecundity, whereas the cow excreta positively affected all these aspects. Our findings additionally suggest that a high abundance of Ae. albopictus in rural areas of Sri Lanka may be due to its oviposition attraction and growth performance for vertebrate excreta.

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“…Two plausible reasons could explain this phenomenon. Firstly, the decomposition rate of animal manure or plant materials returned to the field is generally less than a half, which is lower than that of chemical fertilizer and will reduce the soil H + production [18]; Secondly, the organic acids produced by the compost can form complexes with the exchangeable aluminum in soil [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alleviating Soil Acidification and Increasing the Organic Carbon Pool by Long-Term Organic Fertilizer on Tobacco Planting Soil

et al. 2021

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Long term tobacco planting leads to soil acidification. A ten-year experiment with various fertilization treatments (no fertilization (CK), chemical fertilizer (CF), organic-inorganic compound fertilizer (OCF), and organic fertilizer (OF)) was carried out between 2010 and 2020 in a continuous cropping system of Nicotiana tabacum in the brown soil of eastern China, to assess the effects of organic fertilizer on the improvement of tobacco planting soil acidification. The results indicated that treatments OCF and OF reduced the soil exchangeable acid content, of which the exchangeable aluminum showed the largest reduction by 51.28% with the OF treatment. In contrast, treatment CF showed more significant increases in exchangeable aluminum (Al)and Al saturation, and also apparently increased soil NO3−-N, NH4+-N and nitrification potential (NP) than other treatments. Treatments of OCF and OF significantly increased the total amount of exchangeable base (EBC) by 37.19% and 42.00% compared with CF, respectively. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that NP, NH4+-N, and NO3−-N were the important factors indicating soil acidification, while EBC and exchangeable K were the significant factors restricting soil acidification. Inevitably, OCF could improve the soil organic carbon pool and labile organic carbon pool. The structural equation model (SEM) showed that OCF treatment increased the soil organic carbon pool mainly by inhibiting soil nitrification and reducing the content of exchangeable Al. In conclusion, both OF and OCF treatments were effective methods to alleviate tobacco planting soil acidification, however OCF had more advantages in improving soil organic carbon pool.

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The effects of climate on decomposition of cattle, sheep and goat manure in Kenyan tropical pastures

Cited by 41 publications

References 79 publications

Conservation with elevated elephant densities sequesters carbon in soils despite losses of woody biomass

Conservation with elevated elephant densities sequesters carbon in soils despite losses of woody biomass

Influence of Vertebrate Excreta on Attraction, Oviposition and Development of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Alleviating Soil Acidification and Increasing the Organic Carbon Pool by Long-Term Organic Fertilizer on Tobacco Planting Soil

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