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The quantification of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) pools and carbon farming potential of any land use and cropping systems are important indicators of productivity, profitability, and sustainability of that system. The objective of our present study was to evaluate the spatial and depth-wise distribution of SOC pools (active-C and passive-C) and carbon farming potential of major cropping and land use systems in Alfisols under southern agro climatic zone of Andhra Pradesh, India. We quantified active-C, passive-C pools, and SOC status in 19 different land use and cropping systems. The results indicated that SOC status and carbon farming potential were highest (P< 0.001) under forest land use (13.96 g kg^-1 and 62.19 Mg ha^-1) followed by mango orchards (> 15 years age) relatively less than 23.6%, and on par with sugarcane-vegetables 25.2%, and paddy-tomato 23.1 %. The lowest (P< 0.001) was recorded under rainfed groundnut 77.5%, followed by sugarcane-sugarcane 73.3%. The active-C pool was significantly (P< 0.001) higher in forest land use (8.79 g kg^-1) followed by sugarcane-vegetables (8.3 g kg^-1). The passive-C pool was higher (P< 0.001) under forest land use (7.98 g kg^-1), on par with mango orchards> 15 years age (7.49 g kg^-1) and followed by paddy-tomato (5.69 g kg^-1) and sugarcane-paddy (5.12 g kg^-1). The lowest (P<0.001) active and passive-C pools belonged to rainfed groundnut, current fallow lands, and sugarcane-sugarcane cropping systems. Of all the studied land use and cropping systems, carbon farming potential was higher under forest land use followed by mango orchards > 15 years age, sugarcane-vegetables and paddy-tomato cropping systems. The potential was medium under paddy-groundnut, groundnut-tomato/vegetables, tomato-vegetables, perennial fodder plantations, casuarina and eucalyptus plantations and sugarcane-paddy cropping systems, while it was low under paddy-paddy, groundnut-groundnut, flower crops and cultivable wastes and very low under rainfed groundnut, current fallow lands, and sugarcane-sugarcane cropping systems. Thus, the present study emphasizes on the carbon farming potential, which could act as an indicator for sustainability of the different land use and cropping systems under southern agro-climatic zone.

Keywords: Andhra Pradesh, Carbon farming potential, Forest land-use, Sustainability indicator.

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