Carbon status in major fruit orchard soils of Parbhani district of Maharashtra, India

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) are important as it determine ecosystem and agro-ecosystem functions influencing soil structure, soil fertility, water holding capacity, cation exchange capacity and other soil characteristics. It is also of global importance because of its role in the global carbon cycle(GCC). The understanding of soil carbon in terms of its amount and quality is essential to sustain the quality and productivity of soils. With this view an attempt was made to assess the carbon storage under diverse horticultural cropping systems in Parbhani district of Maharashtra. Twelve major fruit orchard soil samples from Parbhani district of Marathwada region at a depth of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm were collected for investigation.