Leta et al. (2025): Evaluation of selected grass species for soil and water conservation, and carbon sequestration under farmland at Jimma Zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Leta Hailu, Gizaw Tesfaye, Wondimagegn Teka, Yalemstehay Debebe, Adugna Bayata, IN: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1552901

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different grass species on soil and water conservation and carbon sequestration at a farmland in Jimma, Ethiopia. The experiment was set out as a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.), Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum), Phalaris grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) hedgerows, and the control (plots without grass). Soil erosion monitoring pins were installed, and the data were collected every 15 days. Soil samples were collected at 20 cm intervals in the top 100 cm before the grass hedgerows‘ establishment and after harvesting seasons in December (2016–2019 G.C.). Fresh and oven-dry matter biomass (shoot and root) data were measured. The collected soil samples and grass biomass analysis for carbon fraction were determined following Black and Wakely (1934) and the loss on ignition standard procedure methods, respectively. Pin heights and soil moisture data were analyzed using R software.

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