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Volume 13
Issue 19
10.3390/su131910966
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Review

Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities

by
Alex Taylor
1,*,
Maarten Wynants
1,
Linus Munishi
2,
Claire Kelly
1,
Kelvin Mtei
3,
Francis Mkilema
2,
Patrick Ndakidemi
2,
Mona Nasseri
4,
Alice Kalnins
1,
Aloyce Patrick
2,
David Gilvear
1 and
William Blake
1
1
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
2
School of Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha 23311, Tanzania
3
School of Materials, Energy, Water and Environmental Science, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha 23311, Tanzania
4
Ecological Design Thinking, Schumacher College, Totnes TQ9 6EA, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10966; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910966
Submission received: 13 August 2021 / Revised: 26 September 2021 / Accepted: 30 September 2021 / Published: 2 October 2021
(This article belongs to the Topic Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability)
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Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is widely recognised as pivotal in soil function, exerting important controls on soil structure, moisture retention, nutrient cycling and biodiversity, which in turn underpins a range of provisioning, supporting and regulatory ecosystem services. SOC stocks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are threatened by changes in land practice and climatic factors, which destabilises the soil system and resilience to continued climate change. Here, we provide a review of the role of SOC in overall soil health and the challenges and opportunities associated with maintaining and building SOC stocks in SSA. As an exemplar national case, we focus on Tanzania where we provide context under research for the “Jali Ardhi” (Care for the Land) Project. The review details (i) the role of SOC in soil systems; (ii) sustainable land management (SLM) techniques for maintaining and building SOC; (iii) barriers (environmental, economic and social) to SLM implementation; and (iv) opportunities for overcoming barriers to SLM adoption. We provide evidence for the importance of site-specific characterisation of the biophysicochemical and socio-economic context for effective climate adaptation. In particular, we highlight the importance of SOC pools for soil function and the need for practitioners to consider the type of biomass returns to the soil to achieve healthy, balanced systems. In line with the need for local-scale site characterisation we discuss the use of established survey protocols alongside opportunities to complement these with recent technologies, such as rapid in situ scanning tools and aerial surveys. We discuss how these tools can be used to improve soil health assessments and develop critical understanding of landscape connectivity and the management of shared resources under co-design strategies.
Keywords: soil organic carbon; systems thinking; whole system; interdisciplinary; sustainable land management soil organic carbon; systems thinking; whole system; interdisciplinary; sustainable land management

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MDPI and ACS Style

Taylor, A.; Wynants, M.; Munishi, L.; Kelly, C.; Mtei, K.; Mkilema, F.; Ndakidemi, P.; Nasseri, M.; Kalnins, A.; Patrick, A.; et al. Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10966. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910966

AMA Style

Taylor A, Wynants M, Munishi L, Kelly C, Mtei K, Mkilema F, Ndakidemi P, Nasseri M, Kalnins A, Patrick A, et al. Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainability. 2021; 13(19):10966. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910966

Chicago/Turabian Style

Taylor, Alex, Maarten Wynants, Linus Munishi, Claire Kelly, Kelvin Mtei, Francis Mkilema, Patrick Ndakidemi, Mona Nasseri, Alice Kalnins, Aloyce Patrick, and et al. 2021. "Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities" Sustainability 13, no. 19: 10966. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910966

APA Style

Taylor, A., Wynants, M., Munishi, L., Kelly, C., Mtei, K., Mkilema, F., Ndakidemi, P., Nasseri, M., Kalnins, A., Patrick, A., Gilvear, D., & Blake, W. (2021). Building Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience through Soil Organic Carbon Restoration in Sub-Saharan Rural Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainability, 13(19), 10966. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910966

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