Carbon storage assessment in soil and plant organs: the role of Prosopis spp. on mitigate soil degradation

Carbon sequestration is a process for stable storage of carbon dioxide. In this process, excess atmospheric carbon dioxide is stored by the aerial and underground organs of rangeland plants to reduce global warming. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between some chemical properties of soil and ability of carbon storage in two plants, namely Prosopis cineraria and Prosopis juliflora in soil depth ranging between 0–15 and 15–30 cm. This research was carried out in Anbarabad region which is located at 258 km in the southeast of Kerman during 2016–2018. The present research was performed as a factorial experiment so that the first factor was the plant species and the control treatment and the second component was soil depth. Sampling was done from the shady soil of plants and the control area. Soil properties including organic carbon, bulk density, acidity, electrical conductivity and organic matter were analysed. The results indicated that the carbon stored at depths of 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm in the shade soil of P. cineraria was 21.39 and 24.36 t/ha, and in P. juliflora was 23.70 and 24.85 t/ha, and in control area is 19.83 and 21.31 t/ha. Also, the results of stepwise regression study showed that organic carbon percentage and bulk density are the most important factors affecting soil carbon sequestration. Graphical abstract