SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF BELGIUM
NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF SOIL SCIENCE
DAY OF YOUNG SOIL SCIENTISTS 2008
February 27, 2008
The Royal Academies of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Brussels
REGISTRATION FORM
Name
Cappuyns
European University College Brussels
Centre for Corporate Sustainability
Stormstraat 2
1000 Brussels
First name
Phone
+32 2 210 1453
Fax
E-mail
valerie.cappuyns@ehsal.be
Address
Member of SSSB
YES
NO
Student (BSc. or MSc.)
YES
NO
Communication
YES
NO
Poster
YES
NO
Valérie
+32 2 217 6464
Please email, fax or send to
Sofie Bruneel
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
K.U.Leuven
Celestijnenlaan 200 E – box 2411
3001 Heverlee
 016/32.97.21
 016/32.97.60
 sofie.bruneel@biw.kuleuven.be
Kindly send this form at the latest on February 20, 2008 to Sofie Bruneel.
SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF BELGIUM
NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF SOIL SCIENCE
DAY OF YOUNG SOIL SCIENTISTS 2008
February 27, 2008
ABSTRACT
Title
Author(s)
University/
Institution/Laboratory
Influence of soil texture, moisture regime and land use on carbon storage
in Belgian soils.
Toon Moeskops, Valérie Cappuyns, Evi Herelixka
Communication
European University College Brussels
Centre for Corporate Sustainability
Poster
x
Contact person
Name
Cappuyns
First name
Valérie
European University College Brussels, Centre for Corporate Sustainability
Address
Stormstraat 2
1000 Brussels
E-mail
valerie.cappuyns@ehsal.be
Phone
+32 2 210 1453
Fax
+32 2 217 6464
Abstract :
Proposals should be written in English and sent by e-mail before February 11, 2008 to
sofie.bruneel@biw.kuleuven.be.
Human activities significantly altered the carbon cycle on earth and gave rise to elevated atmospheric
CO2 concentrations. In order to decrease atmospheric CO2 concentrations, carbon storage in soil is
considered as a possible option in the Kyoto-protocol. In the present study, the influence of soil
texture, soil moisture regime and land use on the storage of soil organic matter (SOM) was
investigated. The results were used to formulate management strategies that will increase soil organic
matter content.
In the present study, a multiple regression analysis was performed on data of 8990 soil profiles from
the AARDEWERK database. From the studied dataset, only soils from the northern part of Belgium
(above the Samber and Meuse rivers) showed a significant relationship between soil texture, soil
moisture regime, land use and SOM-content. However, only a part of the variability in SOM-content
could be explained by soil texture, soil moisture regime and land use (r² = 0.212). A high SOMcontent was preferentially found in wet meadows with a clayey soil texture. However, the influence of
soil texture is prone to interaction-effects with the two other variables (moisture regime and land use).
Although soils with a clayey texture contain more SOM than sandy and loamy soils, Anthrosols in the
Campine region are an exception since these sandy soils are characterized by an elevated SOM content
Possible management options that can increase or stabilize carbon storage in soils consist of surface
drainage, irrigation, limited soil cultivation, reforestation and a shift in land use from field to meadow.
Although no ‘ultimate’ solution can be proposed, the combination of different modest strategies that
are also economically efficient can contribute to the increased sequestration of carbon in soils. As
such, the storage of carbon in soil can be considered as a feasible management option to reduce
atmospheric CO2 concentrations.