Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae family). They are an intrinsic part of both rangelands and pasturelands and constitute about half of the global land area. Grassland provides different functions, such as livestock feed, environmental regulation, sequestration of soil carbon, biological diversity and maintenance of soil health (Carlier, ROTAR, Vlahova,

Cropland soils are considered to have the potential to sequester atmospheric CO 2 through agronomic best management practices (BMPs). To estimate this potential in East Africa, the authors reviewed 69 published studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi assessing the effect of land use conversion from native vegetation to cropland on soil organic carbon (SOC) and the extent to which carbon sequestration is feasible through BMPs. Reported losses of SOC in the top 30 cm of the soil profile in short (<10 years), medium (10-25 years), and long (>25 years) term were 6.7 ± 6.0, 13.0 ± 9.2, and 2.8 ± 1.0 t C ha -1 year -1 , respectively, for forest-to-cropland; and 16.0, 2.1 ± 2.2 and 0.3 ± 0.8 t C ha -1 year -1 respectively, for woodland-to-cropland conversion. Duration to steadystate SOC was 21-38 years for forest-to-cropland conversion. Short-term SOC sequestration (t C ha -1 year -1 ) in the 0-30 cm layer as a result of BMPs was 19.7 ± 3.9 from crop residues, 14.8 ± 8.7 from farmyard manure, 3.5 ± 4.5 from inorganic fertilizers, 2.7 from agroforestry, and 2.5 from improved fallow. However, the studies reviewed were mostly short-term and concentrated to a few locations. Future research should address these gaps.

Environmental degradation and climate change are key current threats to world agriculture and food security and human–induced changes have been significant driving forces of this global environmental change. An important component is land degradation which results in a diminished soil organic carbon (SOC) stock with concomitant loss of soil condition and function. Land management to improve soil organic matter content, condition and productivity is therefore a key strategy to safeguard agricultural production, food supply and environmental quality. Soil organic carbon sequestration through the use of plant species with high photosynthetic efficiency, deep roots and high biomass production is one important strategy to achieve this. Tropical pastures, which are adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions have particular potential in this regard and have been used extensively for land rehabilitation. Tropical pastures also have advantages over trees for biomass and carbon accumulation due to their rapid establishment, suitability for annual harvest, continual and rapid growth rates. In addition, tropical pastures have the potential for SOC storage in subsoil horizons due to their deep root systems and can be used as biomass energy crops, which could further promote their use as a climate change mitigation option. Here we aimed to review current knowledge regarding the SOC storage potential of tropical grasses worldwide and identified knowledge gaps and current research needs for the use of tropical grasses in agricultural production system.

Soil erosion and sedimentation contribute to deteriorating water quality, adverse alterations in basin hydrology and overall ecosystem biogeochemistry. Thus, understanding soil erosion patterns in catchments is critical for conservation planning. This study was conducted in a peri-urban Inner Murchison Bay (IMB) catchment on the northern shores of Lake Victoria since most soil erosion studies in Sub-Saharan Africa have been focused on rural landscapes. The study sought to identify sediment sources by mapping erosion hotspots using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model in appendage with field walks. RUSLE model was built in ArcGIS 10.5 software with factors including: rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, land cover and support practices. The model was run, producing an erosion risk map and field assessments conducted to ground-truth findings and identify other hotspots. The percentage areas for RUSLE modelled erosion rates were: 66.8% for 0–2 t ha −1 year −1 ; 10.8% for 2–5 t ha −1 year −1 ; 10.1% for 5–10 t ha −1 year −1 ; 9% for 10–50 t ha −1 year −1 and 3.3% for 50–100 t ha −1 year −1 . Average erosion risk was 7 t ha −1 year −1 and the total watershed erosion risk was 197,400 t year −1 , with croplands and steep areas (slope factor > 20) as the major hotspots (> 5 t ha −1 year −1 ). Field walks revealed exposed soils, marrum (gravel) roads and unlined drainage channels as other sediment sources. This study provided the first assessment of erosion risk in this peri-urban catchment, to serve as a basis for identifying mitigation priorities. It is recommended that tailored soil and water conservation measures be integrated into physical planning, focusing on identified non-conventional hotspots to ameliorate sediment pollution in Lake Victoria.

Plant roots are primary factors to contribute to surface and deep soil carbon sequestration (SCS). Perennial grasses like vetiver produce large and deep root system and are likely to contribute significantly to soil carbon. However, we have limited knowledge on how root and shoot decomposition differ and their contribution to SCS. This study examined biomass production and relative decomposition of vetiver which was grown under glasshouse conditions. Subsequently the biomass incubated for 206 days, and the gas analysed using ANCA-GSL. The results confirmed large shoot and root production potential of 161 and 107 Mg ha−1 (fresh) and 67.7 and 52.5 Mg ha−1 (dry) biomass, respectively with 1:1.43 (fresh) and 1:1.25 (dry) production ratio. Vetiver roots decomposed more rapidly in the clay soil (p < 0.001) compared with the shoots, which could be attributed to the lower C:N ratio of roots than the shoots. The large root biomass produced does indeed contribute more to the soil carbon accumulation and the faster root decomposition is crucial in releasing the carbon in the root exudates and would also speed up its contribution to stable SOM. Hence, planting vetiver and similar tropical perennial grasses on degraded and less fertile soils could be a good strategy to rehabilitate degraded soils and for SCS.