Impacts of oil palm cultivation on soil organic carbon stocks in Mexico: evidence from plantations in Tabasco State

Abstract

There is a need for more studies on the effects of oil palm plantations on soil organic carbon storage and on the environmental services provided by these agrosystems in Mexico. This study focused on estimating the soil organic carbon stocks in three areas within oil palm plantations (palm circle, under the frond and between palm rows), at three soil depths (20, 40 and 60 cm) and comparing the carbon storage between different land-uses: a 20-year-old pasture (GS20), a 20-year-old oil palm plantation (OP20), and a secondary forest (SF20). Our results suggest that oil palm plantations store soil organic carbon mainly under frond areas when sown in lixisols and luvisols, with lower carbon sequestration in the palm circle. Regarding the soil depth, the estimated carbon storage was 87 Mg C ha−1 and 67 Mg C ha−1 at depths of 20 and 60 cm, respectively. Regarding land-use comparison, results indicate an increase (not statistically significant) in carbon storage to 27% at 20 cm depth and 18% at 60 cm between pasture and palm plantation. The second-growth forest presented higher carbon storage compared to both other land uses.