Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia

In Colombia, the rise of agricultural and pastureland expansion continues to exert increasing pressure on the structure and ecological processes of savannahs in the Eastern Plains. However, the effect of land use change on soil properties is often unknown due to poor access to remote areas. Effectiv...

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Main Authors: Rainford, Shauna-kay, Martin López, Javier Mauricio, Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Frontiers Media 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114402
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author Rainford, Shauna-kay
Martin López, Javier Mauricio
Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da
author_browse Martin López, Javier Mauricio
Rainford, Shauna-kay
Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da
author_facet Rainford, Shauna-kay
Martin López, Javier Mauricio
Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da
author_sort Rainford, Shauna-kay
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In Colombia, the rise of agricultural and pastureland expansion continues to exert increasing pressure on the structure and ecological processes of savannahs in the Eastern Plains. However, the effect of land use change on soil properties is often unknown due to poor access to remote areas. Effective management and conservation of soils requires the development spatial approaches that measure and predict dynamic soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC). This study estimates the SOC stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia, with validation and uncertainty analyses, using legacy data of 653 soil samples. A random forest model of nine environmental covariate layers was used to develop predictions of SOC content. Model validation was determined using the Taylor series method, and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and mean error (ME) were calculated to assess model performance. We found that the model explained 50.28% of the variation within digital SOC content map. Raster layers of SOC content, bulk density, and coarse rock fragment within the Eastern Plains were used to calculate SOC stock within the region. With uncertainty, SOC stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains was 1.2 G t ha−1. We found that SOC content contributed nearly all the uncertainty in the SOC stock predictions, although better determinations of SOC stock can be obtained with the use of a more geomorphological diverse dataset. The digital soil maps developed in this study provide predictions of extant SOC content and stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains, important soil information that may provide insight into the development of research, regulatory, and legislative initiatives to conserve and manage this evolving ecosystem.
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spelling CGSpace1144022025-11-11T18:47:05Z Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia Rainford, Shauna-kay Martin López, Javier Mauricio Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da land use mapping soil organic carbon machine learning spatial analysis cartografía del uso de la tierra carbono orgánico del suelo aprendizaje electrónico In Colombia, the rise of agricultural and pastureland expansion continues to exert increasing pressure on the structure and ecological processes of savannahs in the Eastern Plains. However, the effect of land use change on soil properties is often unknown due to poor access to remote areas. Effective management and conservation of soils requires the development spatial approaches that measure and predict dynamic soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC). This study estimates the SOC stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia, with validation and uncertainty analyses, using legacy data of 653 soil samples. A random forest model of nine environmental covariate layers was used to develop predictions of SOC content. Model validation was determined using the Taylor series method, and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and mean error (ME) were calculated to assess model performance. We found that the model explained 50.28% of the variation within digital SOC content map. Raster layers of SOC content, bulk density, and coarse rock fragment within the Eastern Plains were used to calculate SOC stock within the region. With uncertainty, SOC stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains was 1.2 G t ha−1. We found that SOC content contributed nearly all the uncertainty in the SOC stock predictions, although better determinations of SOC stock can be obtained with the use of a more geomorphological diverse dataset. The digital soil maps developed in this study provide predictions of extant SOC content and stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains, important soil information that may provide insight into the development of research, regulatory, and legislative initiatives to conserve and manage this evolving ecosystem. 2021-07-21 2021-07-27T09:00:29Z 2021-07-27T09:00:29Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114402 en Open Access application/pdf Frontiers Media Rainford, S.; Martín-López, J.M. ; Da Silva, M. (2021) Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia. Frontiers in Environmental Science 9:685819. ISSN: 2296-665X
spellingShingle land use mapping
soil organic carbon
machine learning
spatial analysis
cartografía del uso de la tierra
carbono orgánico del suelo
aprendizaje electrónico
Rainford, Shauna-kay
Martin López, Javier Mauricio
Silva, Mayesse Aparecida da
Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title_full Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title_fullStr Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title_full_unstemmed Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title_short Approximating soil organic carbon stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia
title_sort approximating soil organic carbon stock in the eastern plains of colombia
topic land use mapping
soil organic carbon
machine learning
spatial analysis
cartografía del uso de la tierra
carbono orgánico del suelo
aprendizaje electrónico
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114402
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