Carbon Stock of Luvisols as Influenced by Cropping System of Abela Lida, Southern Ethiopia Teshome Yitbarek* Department of Natural Resource Management, Wolkite University, Ethiopia Submission: April 16, 2019; Published: May 06, 2019 * Corresponding author: Teshome Yitbarek, Department of Natural Resource Management, Wolkite University, P.O. Box 7, Ethiopia Agri Res & Tech: Open Access J 21(3): ARTOAJ.MS.ID.556164 (2019) 00108 Research Article Volume 21 Issue 3 - May 2019 DOI: 10.19080/ARTOAJ.2019.21.556164 Agri Res & Tech: Open Access J Copyright © All rights are reserved by Teshome Yitbarek Introduction Carbon exists as inseparable components of biomass and soil organic matter. Its storage in soil organic matter is important in mitigating global climate change and improves the livelihood of resource- poor farmers [1]. Soil organic carbon represents a key indicator for soil quality [2], both for agricultural functions (pro- duction and economy), especially for resilience and sustainability of agriculture and for environmental functions (carbon seques- tration and air quality)[3]. Due to these facts, carbon stocks have received considerable attention in the recent past [4]. Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle. Soils have the potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere with proper management [5]. It is generally assumed that soils are the largest C sinks in terrestrial ecosystems [6] with C stock of (~1500Pg), which approximately twice the amount held in the atmosphere and three times the amount contained in terrestrial vegetation [7]. In the other hand, the global emission of soil carbon dioxide is well recognized as one of the largest contributors to worldwide carbon fluxes [8]. Therefore, increasing attention has been paid to soil carbon sequestration over recent decades [9]. Carbon stock of an area could be influenced by land use, soil type and soil management practices. The amount of carbon in any soil is a function of the soil forming factors including climate, relief, organisms, parent material, and time. Over the centuries, humans, usually included as part of the “organisms” factor, have profoundly influenced the dynamics and sequestration of carbon in soils by their land use and management practices [10,11]. Generally, the type of land use system is an important factor that controls SOC levels [12,13]. Therefore, assessing and quantifying carbon stock by taking into consideration the type of land use and soil type would have great contribution for an appropriate land use decision and sustainable carbon soil stock management for the study area, where there is little information in this regard. It has also been suggested that monitoring the effect of land use on soil quality attributes within an ecosystem can provide a useful way to control land degradation and achievement of sustainable management [11]. Moreover, in order to estimate the change in the C stocks of soils, it is first necessary to establish baseline data [14]. Materials and Methods Description of the study area The study was conducted at Abela Lida, mid altitude parts of Shebedino district of Sidama zone in southern region of Ethiopia. It has an altitude of 1877masl with a bimodal rainfall pattern, Abstract Assessing and quantifying carbon stock by taking into consideration the type of land use and soil type would have great contribution for an appropriate land use decision and sustainable carbon soil stock management. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of cropping systems on carbon stock of Luvisols of Abela Lida, Southern Ethiopia. Three representative adjacent cropping systems (enset, coffee and maize- haricot bean intercropping) were considered for the study. The mean values of soil organic carbon (SOC) ranged from 1.72 to 2.75%, medium to high status, respectively. The highest mean value of SOC (2.75%) was recorded in soils under coffee. In the other hand, the lowest mean value (1.72%) of SOC was recorded under the soils of maize-haricot bean intercropping. The results of the study showed significant difference (P≤ 0.05) in soil organic carbon stock under the different cropping systems. Soil under coffee cropping systems had significantly higher values of SOCst (51.01.9Mg ha-1) than enset and maize-haricot bean intercropping (46.61 and 34.58Mg ha-1, respectively). It could be concluded that cropping systems have significant influence on soil organic carbon status and carbon stocks of the soils of an area. Therefore, it is important and advisable to consider cropping systems of a given area for soil management to optimize organic carbon status and carbon stock in a sustainable manner. Keywords: Land use; Organic carbon; Soil management