Carbon auditing in tree-soil nexus: a sustainable approach towards CO2 sequestration and environmental transformation

Abstract

Anomalies in climatic behavior is threatening various aspects of life including environmental degradation, food insecurity, and widespread of diseases. The continual build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other malpractices are among the factors responsible for ecosystem degradation. Field experimentation was conducted, where stratified random sampling was employed to delineate point were Phoenix dactylifera and Mangifera indica was sampled. Experimental point was replicated twice where moist soil was examined for its organic matter and organic carbon content, before and after the experiment. The textural class of the area using USDA textural model after laboratory analysis indicated soils of University of Abuja, Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria ranging from loam to sandy-loam soils. Laboratory fractionalization indicated that the soils of the area has coarse sand value (1.8 g kg-1), fine sand content ranging from (4.5 – 5.2 g kg-1), silt content at (4.5 – 5.2g kg-1) and clay content at (72 g kg-1). Estimation analysis revealed that the organic matter and organic carbon content of the area is low to moderately low. Results of the study revealed that Phoenix dactylifera and Mangifera indica was able to sequester carbon in the form of CO2 which was audited in the form of soil organic carbon (SOC). The study thereby encourages the cultivation of Phoenix dactylifera and Mangifera indica which is not onlyeconomic trees that produce food or fuelwood, but as a climate change tool that could be used to regulate climate change in the form of CO2 sequestration.