Anthropogenic land use impacts carbon dynamics in Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, India

Biological equilibrium has been disturbed by significant land use changes in recent years in the Eastern Ghats of India, which has worsened soil quality and compromised vital ecosystem services. To determine the effect of changes in land use on the balance of soil carbon, this study was carried out in Kolli hills, a portion of the Eastern Ghats that includes six distinct ecosystems: evergreen forest (EF), deciduous forest (DF), thorn forest (TF), agricultural system (AS), horticultural system (HS), and plantation system (PS). Soil from 40 sites each within six ecosystems at two depths were collected to give a total of 480 soil samples, and the samples were analyzed. The results showed that soil organic carbon, carbon stock, microbial biomass carbon, and microbial biomass nitrogen were more significant in EF > DF > TF and lower in AS. The observed carbon stocks in EF, DF, and TF were 179.96, 146.80 and 128.99 t ha⁻¹, respectively, at 15 cm and decreased at 30 cm. Among the carbon pools, the water-soluble, less labile, very labile, non-labile, labile, and particulate organic carbon were greater in EF and lower in AS. The EF had higher soil microbial biomass, carbon, nitrogen, and dehydrogenase enzyme activity levels than the DF and TF. Finally, it is determined that AS, HS, and PS must immediately implement carbon management measure to restore productivity and ecosystem function.