ABSTRACT

A change in soil carbon (C) stocks at medium- or long-term has often been described as an indicator of agrosystem sustainability and environmental quality. Martinique is a volcanic island of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean. It has a hilly relief with high young volcanic mountains in the north and old volcanic mountains in the south. Soil developed from volcanic pumices and ashes is described as a Nitisol. Soil C stocks were measured just before the establishment of these experimental plots when all plots were cropped with perennial banana crops, and two years after the installation of experimental plots. Runoff plots were rectangular, and the surface runoff discharged into calibrated storage tanks. Lysimeters were installed in perennial banana crops in order to measure C losses by leaching. Soil C losses by erosion followed the same trend as soil losses, i.e., losses were more due to coarse than suspended sediments.