Soil organic carbon storage in moutain grasslands of the Lake Plateau at Mt. Durmitor in Montenegro

Soil organic C storage in mountain areas is highly heterogeneous, mainly as a result of local-scale variability in the soil environment and microclimate. The aims of the present study were to estimate soil organic carbon density (SOCD) and stocks in leptosol on morainic deposits of high-altitude grasslands of the Lake Plateau of Mt. Durmitor National Park in Montenegro, and determine the soil variables that can be used as factors to determine the SOCD at 28 soil profiles. Our results indicated that SOC storage in the top 40 cm of the alpine grasslands were estimated at 560 414.86 t C, or 152.66 t•ha-1, with an average density of 15.27 kg•m-2. The soil organic carbon density increased significantly with soil moisture, clay and silt content, but only moderately with mean annual temperature. In conjunction, these variables could explain approximately 51% of the total variation in SOC density.