ABSTRACT
Both tropical rainforest (TRF) and savanna ecosystems play major roles in ecologic processes that determine environment and economic opportunities that affect the well-being of human occupants of these regions. Fire is a natural phenomenon that has shaped the tropical savanna (TS) ecosystems. It has also been used as a principal tool in removing the biomass in both TRF and TS ecosystems and leads to emissions of several radiatively-active gases and others. Important soil processes influencing carbon (C) pool and dynamic include soil nutrient reserves and cycling, and soil aggregation and C sequestration. Availability of balanced soil nutrients is critical to enhancing biomass productivity of managed ecosystems, e.g., conversion of TS to croplands and pastures. Conversion of natural ecosystems to plantation, pastoral and croplands has a drastic impact on carbon pool and emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Fluxes of radiatively-active gases from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere depend on both natural and anthropogenic inputs into the system.
