Articles | Volume 19, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Aug 2022
Research article |
| 23 Aug 2022
| 23 Aug 2022
Stable isotope profiles of soil organic carbon in forested and grassland landscapes in the Lake Alaotra basin (Madagascar): insights in past vegetation changes
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Marjolein Dewaele
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Gerard Govers
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Liesa Brosens
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, 1000 Brussels,
Belgium
Benjamin Campforts
Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at
Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Liesbet Jacobs
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tantely Razafimbelo
Laboratoire des Radio-Isotopes, Université d'Antananarivo,
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Tovonarivo Rafolisy
Laboratoire des Radio-Isotopes, Université d'Antananarivo,
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Steven Bouillon
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
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Short summary
In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of...
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