Inundation impacts on diversified pasture biomass allocation and soil particulate organic matter stocks

Abstract

Natural soil inundation caused by frequent and intense precipitation affects carbon allocation in grassland biomass, ultimately leading to changes in soil carbon storage. Increasing forage diversity could provide resiliency to inundation of grassland. The objective was to evaluate forage and root biomass and C and N stocks in the soil particulate organic matter (POM) from pastures under recurring short‐term inundation. Three forage species combinations were evaluated in an inundated (typically lasting for a few days after heavy rain events) and a non‐inundated pasture: (1) predominantly tall‐fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.); (2) mixture of cool‐season perennials composed of tall‐fescue, orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and white (Trifolium repens L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.); (3) and cool‐season mixture of perennials overseeded with oats (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and rye (Secale cereale L.). Roots and forage biomass were sampled during the growing seasons of 2021 and 2022. Soil POM was evaluated 2.5 years after establishment. Inundation reduced forage and root biomass mainly during periods of higher inundation frequency, leading to lower C‐POM stocks (p < .05). Inundation caused a shift in the forage botanical composition, that is, higher occurrence of weeds and less productive grass species with shallow roots. The perennial cool‐season mixture did not increase forage yield compared with tall fescue only but did increase root mass. This occurred mainly at deeper layers and, consequently, increased C‐POM stocks (p < .05). Overseeding of winter annuals reduced overall forage production, despite increasing spring biomass when inundated in the first year, but reduced C and N‐POM stocks (p < .05). Perennial cool‐season forage mixtures can increase the resilience of pastures to inundation events and contribute to increased carbon sequestration in grasslands where inundation is prevalent.