Short and long-term impact of urban gardening on soil organic carbon fractions in Lixisols (Burkina Faso)

In sub-Saharan Africa, market gardening relies on the intensive use of organic amendments, but little is known about the impact of these practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Recent studies have demonstrated that a better understanding of carbon dynamics can be achieved by considering different carbon pools. Here we used a simple method of physical SOC fractionation to assess the impact of market gardening practices on the evolution of total SOC and its stable and labile sub-fractions over a period of several decades. The study was conducted at the Kuinima market gardening zone in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). Composite soil samples (0–15 cm depth) were collected from a chronosequence of 69 fields including control plots and plots farmed for more than 50 years. Samples were wet sieved at 20 μm after agitation or sonication to assess carbon content in the fine (i.e. stable) and coarse fractions. Our results show an asymptotic increase in total carbon content, from 9 g C kg−1 for uncultivated control plots to 28 g C kg−1 for plots cultivated for more than 50 years. This increase tends to stabilize after 30 years. A similar trend is observed for C content in the coarse fraction > 20 μm. In contrast, carbon content in the fraction < 20 μm increased linearly over time, and this increase was greater in sonicated than in agitated samples. Based on the comparison of the two fractionation methods, a strong contribution of micro-aggregation to the physical stabilization of SOC was hypothesized. This stabilization appears favored by short-range-order (SRO) iron and aluminum oxides and/or metal-humus complexes, as suggested by the strong correlation between stable C content and oxalate-extractable Fe and Al. Large and repeated additions of organic amendments in market gardening thus appear to lead to increased SOC content and promote SOC storage in the stable fraction, thereby contributing to soil quality improvement and the mitigation of climate change.