Soil being a major sink of terrestrial carbon (C), tree-based land-use systems such as agroforestry is likely to retain more stable C in soil from increased litter inputs and deeper roots in soil. The perceived carbon-sequestration potential of agroforestry systems, however, remains largely unexplored. The major objective of this study was to quantify the potential of tropical homegardens (HG), in comparison with other common land-use systems of the region, in sequestering C in the soil. The study was conducted in three villages and an adjacent forest area in Thrissur district, Kerala, India (10º 0' – 10º 47' N; 75º 55' – 76º 54' E). In addition to HG and the primary forest (PF), three common cropping systems of the region were selected: stands of coconut (Cocos nucifera) (CN), rice (Oryza sativa)-paddy (OS), and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) (HB). Soil samples were collected from four soil depths (0 – 20, 20 – 50, 50 – 80, 80 – 100 cm) and fractionated (wet sieving) to three fraction-size classes (250 – 2000µm, 53 – 250µm, <53µm). The whole and fractionated soil samples were analyzed for total carbon and total nitrogen. Results showed that the total soil C content in the land-use systems were in the order PF > HB > HG/CN > OS, suggesting that the extent of soil C sequestration in land-use systems is inversely proportional to the extent of soil disturbance. There were no depth-wise differences in soil C content in HG, unlike in PF, OS, and HB. The smallest particle size fraction (<53µm) of soil had higher C content compared to the other two size classes across land-use systems.