Soil carbon sequestration accelerated by restoration of grassland biodiversity.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Yang Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6372642 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Based on international guidelines, the elaboration of national carbon (C) budgets in many countries has tended to set aside the capacity of grazing lands to sequester C as soil organic carbon (SOC). A widely applied simple method assumes a steady state for SOC stocks in grasslands and a long-term equilibrium between annual C gains and losses. This article presents a theoretical method based on the annual conversion of belowground biomass into SOC to include the capacity of grazing-land soils to sequester C in greenhouse gases (GHG) calculations. Average figures from both methods can be combined with land-use/land-cover data to reassess the net C sequestration of the rural sector from a country. The results of said method were validated with empirical values based on peer-reviewed literature that provided annual data on SOC sequestration. This methodology offers important differences over pre-existing GHG landscape approach calculation methods: •improves the estimation about the capacity of grazing-land soils to sequester C assuming these lands are not in a steady state and•counts C gains when considering that grazing lands are managed at low livestock densities.
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Project description:We investigated a nature-based solution (NbS) via incorporating biocrust into alfalfa-maize intercropping system to test carbon sequestration in seriously eroded agricultural soils. Field investigation showed that the NbS (moss-dominated biocrust + intercropping) massively lowered surface soil erosion by 94.5% and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) loss by 94.7 and 96.8% respectively, while promoting rainwater interception by 82.2% relative to bare land (CK). There generally existed positive interactions between biocrust and cropping in the integrated standing biodiversity system. Enhanced plant biomass input into soils substantially promoted soil fungal community diversity and abundance under NbS (p < 0.05). This enabled NbS to evidently improve soil macroaggregate proportion and mean weight diameter. Critically, topsoil carbon storage was increased by 2.5 and 10.7%, compared with CK and pure intercropping (p < 0.05). Conclusively, the standing diversity under such NbS fostered soil C sequestration via water interception and plant-soil-microbe interactions in degraded agricultural soils.
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Project description:Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization is affected by ecological restoration and plays an important role in the soil C cycle. However, the mechanism of ecological restoration on SOC mineralization remains unclear. Here, we collected soils from the degraded grassland that have undergone 14 years of ecological restoration by planting shrubs with Salix cupularis alone (SA) and, planting shrubs with Salix cupularis plus planting mixed grasses (SG), with the extremely degraded grassland underwent natural restoration as control (CK). We aimed to investigate the effect of ecological restoration on SOC mineralization at different soil depths, and to address the relative importance of biotic and abiotic drivers of SOC mineralization. Our results documented the statistically significant impacts of restoration mode and its interaction with soil depth on SOC mineralization. Compared with CK, the SA and SG increased the cumulative SOC mineralization but decreased C mineralization efficiency at the 0-20 and 20-40 cm soil depths. Random Forest analyses showed that soil depth, microbial biomass C (MBC), hot-water extractable organic C (HWEOC), and bacterial community composition were important indicators that predicted SOC mineralization. Structural equal modeling indicated that MBC, SOC, and C-cycling enzymes had positive effects on SOC mineralization. Bacterial community composition regulated SOC mineralization via controlling microbial biomass production and C-cycling enzyme activities. Overall, our study provides insights into soil biotic and abiotic factors in association with SOC mineralization, and contributes to understanding the effect and mechanism of ecological restoration on SOC mineralization in a degraded grassland in an alpine region.
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Project description:The replacement of native forests by tree plantations is increasingly common globally, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Improving our understanding of the long-term effects of this replacement on soil organic carbon (SOC) remains paramount for effectively managing ecosystems to mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions. Meta-analyses imply that native forest replacement usually reduces SOC stocks and may switch the forest from a net sink to a net source of atmospheric carbon. Using a long-term chronosequence during which areas of subtropical native forest were replaced by Chinese fir, we show by direct measurement that plantations have significantly accelerated SOC turnover compared with native forest, an effect that has persisted for almost a century. The immediate stimulation of SOC decomposition was caused by warmer soil before the closure of the plantation's canopy. Long-term reductions in SOC mean residence times were coupled to litter inputs. Faster SOC decomposition was associated with lower soil microbial carbon use efficiency, which was due to smaller litter inputs and reduced nutrient availabilities. Our results indicate a previously unelucidated control on long-term SOC dynamics in native forests and demonstrate a potential constraint on climate mitigation when such forests are replaced by plantations.
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Project description:Improving the amount of organic carbon in soils is an attractive alternative to partially mitigate climate change. However, the amount of carbon that can be potentially added to the soil is still being debated, and there is a lack of information on additional storage potential on global cropland. Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential is region-specific and conditioned by climate and management but most global estimates use fixed accumulation rates or time frames. In this study, we model SOC storage potential as a function of climate, land cover and soil. We used 83,416 SOC observations from global databases and developed a quantile regression neural network to quantify the SOC variation within soils with similar environmental characteristics. This allows us to identify similar areas that present higher SOC with the difference representing an additional storage potential. We estimated that the topsoils (0-30 cm) of global croplands (1,410 million hectares) hold 83 Pg C. The additional SOC storage potential in the topsoil of global croplands ranges from 29 to 65 Pg C. These values only equate to three to seven years of global emissions, potentially offsetting 35% of agriculture's 85 Pg historical carbon debt estimate due to conversion from natural ecosystems. As SOC store is temperature-dependent, this potential is likely to reduce by 14% by 2040 due to climate change in a "business as usual" scenario. The results of this article can provide a guide to areas of focus for SOC sequestration, and highlight the environmental cost of agriculture.
| S-EPMC9308964 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Native soil carbon (C) can be lost in response to fresh C inputs, a phenomenon observed for decades yet still not understood. Using dual-stable isotope probing, we show that changes in the diversity and composition of two functional bacterial groups occur with this 'priming' effect. A single-substrate pulse suppressed native soil C loss and reduced bacterial diversity, whereas repeated substrate pulses stimulated native soil C loss and increased diversity. Increased diversity after repeated C amendments contrasts with resource competition theory, and may be explained by increased predation as evidenced by a decrease in bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies. Our results suggest that biodiversity and composition of the soil microbial community change in concert with its functioning, with consequences for native soil C stability.
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Project description:IntroductionHuman concerns about fossil fuel depletion, energy security and environmental degradation have driven the rapid development of solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation. Most of the photovoltaic power generation plants are concentrated in desert, grassland and arable land, which means the change of land use type. However, there is still a gap in the research of the PV panel layout on grassland plant species diversity and ecological function.MethodsIn this study, Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was used to investigate the effects of PV panel arrangement on grassland plant species diversity and soil microbial diversity. In view of the differences in the microclimate at different sites of the PV panels, quadrates were arranged in front edge (FE), beneath the center of each panel (BP), back edge (BE), the uncovered interspace adjacent to each panel (IS) and the undisturbed grassland around the PV panels (Control), respectively.ResultsPV panels (especially FE) significantly increased the total aboveground productivity (total AGB) and plant species diversity in grasslands. FE increased precipitation accumulation and plant species diversity directly and indirectly changed the diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities. PV panels decreased the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota, while increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, and Methylomirabilota. EC, Margalef' s richness and total AGB were the main factors affecting the composition of bacterial communities, while alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN) and available phosphorus (AP) were the main factors affecting the composition of fungal communities.DiscussionIn conclusion, the arrangement of PV panels increased the plant species diversity and soil microorganisms in grassland. This study provides important information for further understanding the impact of PV panels on grassland ecosystem function and is of great significance for maintaining grassland ecosystem function.
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Project description:Exclosures are used to regenerate native vegetation as a way to reduce soil erosion, increase rain water infiltration and provide fodder and woody biomass in degraded grazing lands. Therefore, this study assessed the impact of grazing exclosure on carbon sequestration and soil nutrients under 5 and 10 years of grazing exclosures and freely grazed areas in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Carbon stocks and soil nutrients increased with increasing grazing exclusion. However, open grazing lands and 5 years of grazing exclosure did not differ in above- and belowground carbon stocks. Moreover, 10 years of grazing exclosure had a higher (p < 0.01) grass, herb and litter carbon stocks compared to 5 years exclosure and open grazing lands. The total carbon stock was higher for 10 years exclosure (75.65 t C ha-1) than the 5 years exclosure (55.06 t C ha-1) and in open grazing areas (51.98 t C ha-1). Grazing lands closed for 10 years had a higher SOC, organic matter, total N, available P, and exchangeable K + and Na + compared to 5 year's exclosure and open grazing lands. Therefore, establishment of grazing exclosures had a positive effect in restoring degraded grazing lands, thus improving carbon sequestration potentials and soil nutrients.
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Project description:The primary goal of the study was to determine the quantity of carbon accumulated in shallow fertile water bodies that were restored after a long period of drainage. Massive drainage of mid-field water bodies took place in north-eastern Poland in the 19th century. Of 143 identified drained lakes (each of more than 1 ha before drying) in the Olsztyn Lakeland, 27 have been restored to their original state through natural rewilding processes or recovery projects. From among the variety of drained water bodies, 8 which have been naturally or artificially restored to their original condition 13 to 47 years ago, were the subject of a detailed study on carbon sequestration. The studied water bodies had high productivity, and they were classified as moderately eutrophic to extremely hypertrophic. An analysis of bottom sediments revealed that, after restoration, the examined water bodies have accumulated 275.5 g C m-2 a-1 on average, which is equivalent to 10.1 Mg ha-1 a-1 of carbon dioxide (CO2) removed from the atmosphere. Results showed that the evaluated water bodies are effective carbon sinks. Most of the lakes drained in the 19th century are wastelands today, and they can be relatively easily restored to their original condition to create additional carbon sequestration sites. Lake restoration seems to be a cost-effective method both for carbon capture (as additional potential capacity as part of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods) and to support the sustainable use of agricultural areas. However, this second goal may be limited by the poor ecological status of such facilities.
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