Agricultural land is one of the major sources of carbon dioxide emission (CO2), which
results increase of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Assessment of SOC
concentration can serve to evaluate the soil quality and carbon sequestration potential of
agricultural land. In the context where climate change mitigation options are being
seriously explored globally, an assessment of soil organic carbon in mountain agriculture
lands of Nepal is highly desirable. This is also an effort to appreciate efforts of local
farmers who have been practicing sustainable soil management. This study seeks to
answer the research question – what are the effects of sustainable soil management
practices undertaken in the mid hills districts of Nepal on accumulating soil organic
carbon in uplands agriculture lands or bari in Nepal?
The present study determined SOC on three types of land uses – farmland with
sustainable soil management practices (SSMP), farmland without sustainable
management practices (Non-SSMP) and the community managed forest (forest) in four
Middle Mountain districts of Nepal, namely Baglung, Dhading, Kavre and Okhaldhunga.
The results indicated that the average SOC pools in the SSMP land was in the range of 20
- 44 Mg ha-1, that in non-SSMP agricultural areas ranged from 15 to 48 Mg ha-1, and in
the forested land it was in the range of 16 to 23 Mgha-1. In general, the abundance of SOC
stocks are in the order of SSM>Non-SSM>Forests. Forests had lower total SOC stocks
due to the fact that the soils there were shallow and gravelly being located on steeply
sloping areas. The analysis indicates a high potential of SOC sequestration through
sustainable soil management.