Optimising carbon sequestration in arid and semiarid rangelands

Dean, Camin; Kirkpatrick, J. B.; Harper, R.J.; Eldridge, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.09.125

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…; Dean et al . ). This recommendation of deep sampling to improve accurate soil C inventories also applies to studies of soil C dynamics following vegetation cover change in other ecosystem types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Dean et al . ). However, at the ecosystem level, the effects of woody encroachment on SOC stocks are often equivocal, with studies showing increased SOC stocks in some ecosystems (Schlesinger et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Land cover change is often associated with a change in C stocks (Guo & Gifford 2002;Don, Schumacher & Freibauer 2011;Pellegrini, Hoffmann & Franco 2014). The encroachment of woody plants into grasslands/savannas has been considered to be a potentially large C sink at regional and global scales due to the accumulation of C in both biomass and soils (Pacala et al 2001;King et al 2007;Dean et al 2015). However, at the ecosystem level, the effects of woody encroachment on SOC stocks are often equivocal, with studies showing increased SOC stocks in some ecosystems (Schlesinger et al 1996;Maestre et al 2009;Liu et al 2011;Blaser et al 2014), no net change (Hughes et al 2006) and reductions in others (Jackson et al 2002;Oelofse et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage

Zhou

Boutton

2017

Journal of Ecology

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Summary Recent global trends of increasing woody plant abundance in grass‐dominated ecosystems may substantially enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and could represent a strong carbon (C) sink in the terrestrial environment. However, few studies have quantitatively addressed the influence of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and soil properties on SOC storage at the landscape scale. In addition, most studies assessing SOC response to woody encroachment consider only surface soils, and have not explicitly assessed the extent to which deeper portions of the soil profile may be sequestering C. We quantified the direction, magnitude and pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC in the upper 1·2 m of the profile following woody encroachment via spatially specific intensive soil sampling across a landscape in a subtropical savanna in the Rio Grande Plains, USA, that has undergone woody proliferation during the past century. Increased SOC accumulation following woody encroachment was observed to considerable depth, albeit at reduced magnitudes in deeper portions of the profile. Overall, woody clusters and groves accumulated 12·87 and 18·67 Mg C ha−1 more SOC compared to grasslands to a depth of 1·2 m. Woody encroachment significantly altered the pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC to a depth of 5 cm, with marginal effect at 5–15 cm, and no significant impact on soils below 15 cm. Fine root density explained greater variability of SOC in the upper 15 cm, while a combination of fine root density and soil clay content accounted for more of the variation in SOC in soils below 15 cm across this landscape. Synthesis. Substantial soil organic carbon sequestration can occur in deeper portions of the soil profile following woody encroachment. Furthermore, vegetation patterns and soil properties influenced the spatial heterogeneity and uncertainty of soil organic carbon in this landscape, highlighting the need for spatially specific sampling that can characterize this variability and enable scaling and modelling. Given the geographic extent of woody encroachment on a global scale, this undocumented deep soil carbon sequestration suggests this vegetation change may play a more significant role in regional and global carbon sequestration than previously thought.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage

Zhou

Boutton

2017

Journal of Ecology

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“…Over the past 40 years, a large number of studies have been conducted to examine the responses of aboveground processes to grazing in grassland ecosystems, which have considerably improved our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the grazing effects (Bai et al, 2012;Stahlheber & D'Antonio, 2013;Dean et al, 2015). For example, intermediate grazing could contribute to sustain plant species diversity and ecosystem stability, while no grazing may decrease diversity of equilibrium community (i.e., intermediate disturbance hypothesis, Connell, 1978;Sasaki et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing intensity significantly affects belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems: a meta‐analysis

Zhou

Shao

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

397

284

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Livestock grazing activities potentially alter ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in grassland ecosystems. Despite the fact that numerous individual studies and a few meta-analyses had been conducted, how grazing, especially its intensity, affects belowground C and N cycling in grasslands remains unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of 115 published studies to examine the responses of 19 variables associated with belowground C and N cycling to livestock grazing in global grasslands. Our results showed that, on average, grazing significantly decreased belowground C and N pools in grassland ecosystems, with the largest decreases in microbial biomass C and N (21.62% and 24.40%, respectively). In contrast, belowground fluxes, including soil respiration, soil net N mineralization and soil N nitrification increased by 4.25%, 34.67% and 25.87%, respectively, in grazed grasslands compared to ungrazed ones. More importantly, grazing intensity significantly affected the magnitude (even direction) of changes in the majority of the assessed belowground C and N pools and fluxes, and C : N ratio as well as soil moisture. Specifically,light grazing contributed to soil C and N sequestration whereas moderate and heavy grazing significantly increased C and N losses. In addition, soil depth, livestock type and climatic conditions influenced the responses of selected variables to livestock grazing to some degree. Our findings highlight the importance of the effects of grazing intensity on belowground C and N cycling, which may need to be incorporated into regional and global models for predicting effects of human disturbance on global grasslands and assessing the climate-biosphere feedbacks.

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“…Owing to high yields, the ability of fixing nitrogen, and adaptability to various environment conditions, legume pastures (e.g., Medicago sativa L. and Melilotus suaveolens L.) are widely used in the revegetation practices of "Grain for Green" on the Loess Plateau She et al, 2009;Deng et al, 2014a;Mu et al, 2014). Introduction of legume pastures exhibit high potential in sequestering C in soil because of the increased rates of organic matter addition and retention (Raiesi, 2012;Deng et al, 2014b;Dean et al, 2014;Guan et al, 2016). However, most studies available on changes in soil C after revegetation have not separated SOC into LFOC and HFOC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicago sativa improves soil carbon sequestration following revegetation of degraded arable land in a semi-arid environment on the Loess Plateau, China

Yuan

Guan

et al. 2016

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Optimising carbon sequestration in arid and semiarid rangelands

Cited by 27 publications

References 89 publications

Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage

Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage

Grazing intensity significantly affects belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems: a meta‐analysis

Medicago sativa improves soil carbon sequestration following revegetation of degraded arable land in a semi-arid environment on the Loess Plateau, China

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