Towards a better understanding of soil organic carbon variation in Madagascar

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important carbon pool in terrestrial ecosystems. Prediction of SOC based on soil properties and environmental factors helps to describe the spatial and vertical distribution in SOC; however, the effectiveness and accuracy of various prediction methods, including classical and recently developed model approaches, need to be tested for tropical soil and environments. In this study, random forest and linear mixed effects model approaches were tested to predict the spatial and vertical variation of SOC stocks in Eastern Madagascar. This work was supported by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme