Articles | Volume 6, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-523-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-523-2020
Original research article
 | 
05 Nov 2020
Original research article |  | 05 Nov 2020

Nitrogen availability determines the long-term impact of land use change on soil carbon stocks in grasslands of southern Ghana

John Kormla Nyameasem, Thorsten Reinsch, Friedhelm Taube, Charles Yaw Fosu Domozoro, Esther Marfo-Ahenkora, Iraj Emadodin, and Carsten Stefan Malisch

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Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
ED: Revision (07 Aug 2020) by Nikolaus J. Kuhn
AR by John Kormla Nyameasem on behalf of the Authors (17 Aug 2020)  Author's response 
ED: Reconsider after major revisions (26 Aug 2020) by Nikolaus J. Kuhn
AR by John Kormla Nyameasem on behalf of the Authors (27 Aug 2020)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (18 Sep 2020) by Nikolaus J. Kuhn
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (26 Sep 2020) by Johan Six (Executive editor)
AR by John Kormla Nyameasem on behalf of the Authors (30 Sep 2020)  Author's response   Manuscript 
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Short summary
Long-term studies on the impact of land use change and crop selection on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. Accordingly, this study analysed the impact of converting natural grasslands to a range of low-input production systems in a tropical savannah on SOC stocks. Apart from the cultivation of legume tree and/or shrub species, all land management techniques were detrimental. Grazed grasslands in particular had almost 50 % less SOC than natural grasslands.