Dataset Information

Consolidating soil carbon turnover models by improved estimates of belowground carbon input.

ABSTRACT: World soil carbon (C) stocks are third only to those in the ocean and earth crust, and represent twice the amount currently present in the atmosphere. Therefore, any small change in the amount of soil organic C (SOC) may affect carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere. Dynamic models of SOC help reveal the interaction among soil carbon systems, climate and land management, and they are also frequently used to help assess SOC dynamics. Those models often use allometric functions to calculate soil C inputs in which the amount of C in both above and below ground crop residues are assumed to be proportional to crop harvest yield. Here we argue that simulating changes in SOC stocks based on C input that are proportional to crop yield is not supported by data from long-term experiments with measured SOC changes. Rather, there is evidence that root C inputs are largely independent of crop yield, but crop specific. We discuss implications of applying fixed belowground C input regardless of crop yield on agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation and accounting.

SUBMITTER: Taghizadeh-Toosi A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5007648 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Consolidating soil carbon turnover models by improved estimates of belowground carbon input.

Taghizadeh-Toosi Arezoo A Christensen Bent T BT Glendining Margaret M Olesen Jørgen E JE

Scientific reports 20160901

World soil carbon (C) stocks are third only to those in the ocean and earth crust, and represent twice the amount currently present in the atmosphere. Therefore, any small change in the amount of soil organic C (SOC) may affect carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere. Dynamic models of SOC help reveal the interaction among soil carbon systems, climate and land management, and they are also frequently used to help assess SOC dynamics. Those models often use allometric functions to c ...[more]

PMID: 27580672

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Project description:The role of soils in the global carbon cycle and in reducing GHG emissions from agriculture has been increasingly acknowledged. The '4 per 1000' (4p1000) initiative has become a prominent action plan for climate change mitigation and achieve food security through an annual increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks by 0.4%, (i.e. 4‰ per year). However, the feasibility of the 4p1000 scenario and, more generally, the capacity of individual countries to implement soil carbon sequestration (SCS) measures remain highly uncertain. Here, we evaluated country-specific SCS potentials of agricultural land for 24 countries in Europe. Based on a detailed survey of available literature, we estimate that between 0.1% and 27% of the agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can potentially be compensated by SCS annually within the next decades. Measures varied widely across countries, indicating differences in country-specific environmental conditions and agricultural practices. None of the countries' SCS potential reached the aspirational goal of the 4p1000 initiative, suggesting that in order to achieve this goal, a wider range of measures and implementation pathways need to be explored. Yet, SCS potentials exceeded those from previous pan-European modelling scenarios, underpinning the general need to include national/regional knowledge and expertise to improve estimates of SCS potentials. The complexity of the chosen SCS measurement approaches between countries ranked from tier 1 to tier 3 and included the effect of different controlling factors, suggesting that methodological improvements and standardization of SCS accounting are urgently required. Standardization should include the assessment of key controlling factors such as realistic areas, technical and practical feasibility, trade-offs with other GHG and climate change. Our analysis suggests that country-specific knowledge and SCS estimates together with improved data sharing and harmonization are crucial to better quantify the role of soils in offsetting anthropogenic GHG emissions at global level.

Dataset Information

Consolidating soil carbon turnover models by improved estimates of belowground carbon input.

Publications

Consolidating soil carbon turnover models by improved estimates of belowground carbon input.

Similar Datasets

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