Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 20(4): 468-472, October-December 2021

ISSN: 022-457X (Print); 2455-7145 (Online); DOI: 10.5958/2455-7145.2021.00059.X

Short Communication

Seasonal changes in sequestered soil organic carbon

under short dry and tall wet grasslands of Jhilmil
Jheel wetland, Haridwar - Uttarakhand, India
M. SALIM*

Received: 3 January 2020; Accepted: 12 July 2021

ABSTRACT
Wetland ecosystems have the ability to remove atmospheric carbon from the atmosphere by storing it in
the biosphere by the process called as carbon sequestration. So, the present study was conducted in
Jhilmil Jheel wetland which is a conservation reserve for Swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii) categorized
as “Vulnerable” under IUCN Red Data Book with an aim to estimate seasonal changes in soil organic
carbon in percentage under two different land uses i.e., tall wet grassland and short dry grassland
during autumn, winter, spring and summer season. Soil samples were collected from the depth of 0-30
cm by digging pit from both the sites and were taken into laboratory for further analysis. The result
revealed that under short dry grassland site, maximum (1.25±0.15) values of soil organic carbon was
observed during winter season followed by spring (1.22±0.12), autumn (1.21±0.09) and minimum
(1.18±0.05) during summer season. Similarly, under tall wet grassland site, maximum (2.11±0.19) value
was observed during winter season followed by summer (2.10±0.17), autumn (2.08±0.15) and minimum
(2.05±0.22) during spring season. One-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Tukey test was also applied to
analyze and compare the mean significant difference between each season under both short dry grassland
and tall wet grassland sites. The statistical analysis revealed that the percentage values of soil organic
carbon estimated during different seasons under both the sites were observed significantly different at
(p<0.05 level).
Key words: Grassland, Carbon sequestration, Wetland, Soil organic carbon, Conservation reserve and
seasons

Wetlands are described as “the kidneys of the
landscape” because of the functions that they
perform in hydrologic and chemical cycles and
because they function as the downstream receivers
of wastes from both natural and human sources.
Carbon sequestration is the process of removing
additional carbon from the atmosphere and
depositing it in another reservoir principally
through change in land use (Mandal and Laake,
2005). The process of transforming carbon in the
air (CO2) into soil carbon, long term storage of
carbon in the terrestrial biosphere, underground or
the oceans reduces the build-up of carbon dioxide
concentration in the atmosphere. Carbon
sequestration is the extraction of the atmospheric
carbon dioxide and its storage in the terrestrial
ecosystem for a very long time period, may
thousands of years (Waran and Patwardhan, 2001).
Therefore, the present study was aimed to study
the amount of atmospheric carbon that’s been
sequestered under the soil (short dry grassland and
tall wet grassland) of Jhilmil Jheel wetland.
Jhilmil Jheel is a saucer shaped wetland situated
on the left bank of River Ganges between N 29°32’
to 29°50’ and E 78° to 78° 15’ covering an area of
3,783.50 ha of Reserve Forest. The altitude of the
area varies from 200 to 250 m above msl. It is located
on the Haridwar – Highway and besides the natural
course of the Ganges to the south of it in Chidiyapur
Forest Range of Haridwar Forest Division,
Uttarakhand.
The total area of the core zone of the wetland
conservation reserve covers an area of 148 ha, out
of which short dry grassland site covers an area of
95 ha and tall wet grassland site covers an area of
53 ha. This core zone is the main feeding ground
for the Swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli). The IUCN
Red List of threatened species classifies the Swamp
deer as “Vulnerable”. The area experiences
subtropical climate, coldest month being December
when temperature drops as low as 6°C. Winter rains
and subsequent heavy fog are also prevalent in the
area. Summer is very hot and humid like any other

Ecology, Environment and Forest Influence Division, Forest Research Institute (Deemed) University, Dehradun-248006,
Uttarakhand
*Corresponding author Email id: vgassizfri10@gmail.com
October-December 2021] SEASONAL CHANGES IN SEQUESTERED SOC
Fig. 1. Map of core zone of Jhilmil Jheel wetland (Source:
Haridwar Forest Department)
Terai area when temperature soars up to 39.4°C,
often accompanied by hot dust storms. The area
experiences monsoon by end June, which continues
till September. Average rainfall in the area is 901.54
mm per annum and most of the rain falls between
July and September (Fig. 2 and 3).
Soil samples were collected from both the sites
of Jhilmil Jheel Wetland for estimation of soil
organic carbon during the year 2013 to 2014. At each
site, 30 soil cores were obtained randomly at a depth
of 0-30 cm by digging pit during autumn, winter,
spring and summer season for the period of two
years. The samples were collected, mixed
thoroughly and were kept in polythene bags and
used for further analysis. The collected soil samples
were brought into the laboratory. After air drying
Fig. 2. Graph of monthly maximum, minimum and mean
temperature (°C) for the year 2013-14
469
Fig. 3. Graph of monthly average rainfall (mm) for the year
2013-14
and removing twigs, gravels and pebbles, the soil
samples were ground in a pestle mortar and then
sieved through 2 mm mesh sieve to determine the
percentage soil organic carbon in the laboratory.
The analysis was done following chromic acid
titration method (Walkley and Black, 1934). The
percentage SOC was calculated by using the
following formula:
(B-S) × 0.003 × 1.33
% Organic Carbon = –––––––––––––––––––––
2 × weight of soil taken
Whereas; B = Reading of blank titration; S = Reading
of sample titration
After the analysis of the soil samples of both
the sites, it was observed that under short dry
grassland site, maximum soil organic carbon
content was during winter season followed by
spring, autumn and the least was observed under
summer season while under tall wet grassland site,
the maximum soil organic carbon content was
depicted under winter season followed by summer,
autumn and the least was observed under spring
season (Table 1). The study revealed that the soil
organic carbon content under short dry grassland
and tall wet grassland site was maximum during
winter season and the minimum was observed
during summer season under short dry grassland
and during spring season under tall wet grassland
site of grassland. Grasslands sequester most of their
carbon underground, while forests store it mostly
in woody biomass and leaves. When wildfires cause
trees to go up in flames, the burned carbon they
formerly stored is released back to the atmosphere.
When fire burns grasslands, however, the carbon
fixed underground tends to stay in the roots and
soil, making them more adaptive to climate change
470
Table 1. Seasonal changes in soil organic carbon (%) under
short dry grassland and tall wet grassland sites of Jhilmil
Jheel Wetland
Seasons Sites
Short dry Tall wet
grassland grassland
(%) (%)
Autumn 1.21c±0.09 2.08a±0.15
b
Winter 1.25 ±0.15 2.11c±0.19
Spring 1.22c±0.12 2.05b±0.22
a
Summer 1.18 ±0.05 2.10c±0.17
F value 6.906 15.083
P value 0.000 0.000
(Means with similar superscripts in a column are not
significantly different from each other)
(Kerlin, 2018). Low soil organic carbon content
under short dry grassland site was may be because
the above ground herbaceous biomass dies in
during the colder months and put more organic
matter into the soil and regenerates in spring in the
perennial grasslands and that their root systems
also had a rapid turnover but on a longer time scale,
an estimated 55% of temperate grassland root
biomass turns over annually (Gill and Jackson,
2000; Gill et al., 2002).
In nature, grassland locked in a significant
amount of soil organic carbon and the presence of
extensive root biomass of grass communities may
be one of the reasons for higher soil organic carbon
content (Balesdent and Balabane, 1996) and since
roots are considered to be more stable form of
carbon supply to the soil than litter (Denef and Six,
2006). Residues and roots of grasses decomposes
faster than the residues and roots of broadleaf trees,
and likely due to lower lignin found in grasses. It
is generally accepted that within a year up to 50%
of the biomass carbon (both roots and above ground
biomass) dies, decomposes and as a result as
residues in the soil organic carbon pool (Follet et
al., 2001).
The present study revealed that under short dry
grassland, minimum soil organic carbon content
was observed during summer season. Increased
temperature, precipitation, and plant growth were
the fundamental factors that resulted in increased
soil carbon emission during growing season (peak
vegetation) which was reported by Dhital et al.
(2014). Presence of swamp deer at dry grassland
site makes it a more prominent factor in reduction
of SOC as this site is the main feeding ground for
them and because of the grazing activity, huge
SALIM [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 20(4)
amount of SOC from the grassland decreases and
they have little access to the wet grassland site
which makes it less vulnerable to grazing activity.
Overgrazing is the main mechanism of grassland
degradation and associated loss of SOC stocks as
Dlamini et al. (2016) observed in his study that
significant reduction of SOC stocks by 16% in dry
climates (1000 mm) and found that Asia was the
most affected continent (-23.7%) due to grassland
degradation and overgrazing. Martinsen et al.
(2011) found that SOC stocks declined by 14% after
7 years of grazing in Norway, with 0.76 kg C m2 in
ungrazed compared to 0.64 kg C m2 in heavily
grazed grasslands. Steffens et al. (2008) found that
30 years of grazing in semi-arid Mongolian
grasslands resulted in 45% decrease in SOC stocks,
with 0.64 kg C m2 in grazed compared to 1.17 kg C
m2 in ungrazed grasslands. It becomes clear from
the above studies that grazing activity puts a lot of
pressure on the grassland and reduce huge quantity
of SOC from its soil.
Along with grazing activity, soil compaction
due to movement of the herd of swamp deer might
be another reason for reduction of SOC under short
dry grassland site as compare to tall wet grassland
site as compaction of soil reduces the overall fertility
of the soil. Similar findings were made by Brevik et
al. (2002) in his study where it indicates that the
compacted layer on the trail alters the soil carbon
pool by limiting additions of fresh organic matter
to the soil, limiting vegetative production, and by
“pooling” carbon additions in the upper 10 cm of
the soil.
Soil carbon emission increased linearly with
mean annual precipitation in Southern Great Plains,
USA (Zhou et al., 2009), and not only summer
rainfall but also winter snow accumulation in
grassland affects carbon cycling processes in winter
and subsequent summer (Chimner and Welker,
2005). Atmospheric warming is enhancing soil CO2
efflux, leading to concerns over declining SOC and
increasing atmospheric CO2 (Bond and Thomson,
2010). The distribution of biological soil crusts
(BSCs) as well as their chlorophyll and carbon
content was greater in winter compared with
summer rainfall areas across southern Africa (Budel
et al., 2009). Seasonal dynamics of soil organic
carbon in wetland of Yellow River Estuary, China
and reported that during the month of august, it
was hot and rainy in the area of the Yellow River
estuary, which provided the proper conditions for
organic carbon mineralization and decomposition,
and, thus, the content of soil organic carbon was
October-December 2021] SEASONAL CHANGES IN SEQUESTERED SOC
reduced in August compared with that in May (Luo
et al., 2014). The present study also observed similar
findings where low soil organic carbon content was
depicted during autumn and spring season.
Soil carbon density in mangrove swamps and
Spartina patens marshes were studied by Chmura
et al. (2013) in the western and eastern Atlantic and
Pacific coasts, as well as the Indian Ocean,
Mediterranean Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico and
reported that soil organic carbon content declined
with increased average annual temperature which
was probably due to increased decay rates at higher
temperatures. Above findings showed that during
summer season, soil organic carbon content
decreased with the increased in temperature but
contrary to that, tall wet grassland site showed high
amount of soil organic carbon content during
summer and winter season as compare to the spring
and autumn season. The freshwater input could
increase soil organic carbon loss through changing
soil salinity since soil salinity was strongly
negatively correlated with microbial biomass
carbon and soil organic matter content (Morrissey
et al., 2014; Reitz and Haynes, 2003) which might
explain that with the addition of fresh water/
rainfall, there would be low soil organic carbon
content during spring and autumn season as both
the seasons added freshwater in the form of rain
and flood which alters the pH of soil. Akpa et al.
(2016) studied soil organic carbon stocks and
potential carbon sequestration for Nigeria using
legacy soil data under forest, shrub land, savannah,
grassland and cropland. Their result revealed that
the soil organic carbon content was (51 Mg ha-1)
observed under grassland. Dass (2018) conducted
a study at University of California, and found that
grasslands and rangelands were more resilient
carbon sinks than forests in 21st century California.
As such, the study indicated they should be given
opportunities in the state’s cap-and-trade market,
which was designed to reduce California’s
greenhouse gas emissions to 40 per cent below 1990
levels by 2030.
One-way ANOVA was applied to compare the
mean difference between seasons with respect to
soil organic carbon and the result showed
significant mean difference between difference
seasons at (P < 0.05 level). When Post-hoc test was
applied, the data showed that winter and summer
season showed significant mean difference between
each other and with autumn and spring season but
on the other hand, no significant mean difference
were observed between autumn and spring season
with respect to soil organic carbon stock for
471
homogenous subsets under short dry grassland site.
Likewise, no mean significant difference was
observed between winter and summer season while
strong mean significant difference was observed
between autumn, spring summer season and also
between autumn, spring and winter season (Table
1).
CONCLUSIONS
The study showed that in Jhilmil Jheel wetland
area, the highest percentage soil organic carbon was
observed during winter season under both the sites
while it was lowest under short dry grassland site
during summer season and under tall wet
grassland, it was lowest during spring season.
Overall study revealed that tall wet grassland site
had maximum percentage of soil organic carbon
as compared to the short dry grassland site.
Wetlands have the potential to sequester large
quantities of carbon from the atmosphere and to
reduce the concentration of atmospheric CO 2,
which will help abate global warming. If the
wetland carbon stock is destroyed, a large amount
of carbon accumulation could be discharged from
wetland soils in a short period of time. And as we
recently witnessed the forest fire in Amazon with
tons of carbon escaping into the atmosphere for
days which were sequestered from the atmosphere
until the forest fire broke out and covered the sky
with a thick blanket of smoke. Such large scale
disaster would have a huge negative impact on the
changing climate scenario and adds up more and
more carbon into the atmosphere. Declaration of
Jhilmil Jheel as conservation reserves for Barasingha
doesn’t only provide a focussed approach to protect
the species but also allows to manage and conserve
the habitat which will ultimately sequester more
and more carbon from the atmosphere and remain
as a safe haven for this magnificent species in
Uttarakhand.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Sincere thanks are offered to my supervisor and
co-supervisor for their help and guidance during
my research work.
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