Urmila Mallick

Animals affect their environment through a variety of biogeochemical processes that must be comprehensively considered when planning regional carbon budgets. Until recently, most of these effects across ecosystems remained unacknowledged and therefore may be largely skewing carbon budgets globally. Soils store about 75% of the terrestrial carbon pool and can sequester varying levels of organic carbon depending on wildlife, livestock, and human activity on the landscape. My research examines the effects of wildlife versus livestock and differences in species functional types on soil carbon storage in northern Botswana’s Makgadikgadi National Park and a bordering livestock rangeland that acts as a migration corridor between the park and Central Kalahari Game Reserve. My study involves analyzing camera trap image data, collecting soil samples and measuring landscape properties at camera trap sites, and mapping the landscape using remote sensing. By analyzing soil carbon with animal presence data and landscape variables that may influence carbon cycling, I intend to model the effects that wildlife and livestock have on carbon sequestration potential in the Makgadikgadi landscape.