Potential Carbon Benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program in the United States

Barker, Jerry R.; Baumgardner, Greg A.; Turner, David P.; Lee, Jeffrey J.

doi:10.2307/2845976

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…4). This result is consistent with several studies of CRP and other restored grasslands, which report no significant C and N mass change in the first 10 yr since planting (Barker et al 1995, Bruce et al 1999, Karlen et al 1999, Potter et al 1999, Baer et al 2000). It is inconsistent, however, with other studies reporting increased SOC in the first decade following agricultural abandonment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Community- And Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Species-Rich Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Camill

McKone

Sturges

et al. 2004

Ecological Applications

178

196

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Changes in the plant community and ecosystem properties that follow the conversion of agriculture to restored tallgrass prairies are poorly understood. Beginning in 1995, we established a species‐rich, restored prairie chronosequence where ∼3 ha of agricultural land have been converted to tallgrass prairie each year. Our goals were to examine differences in ecosystem properties between these restored prairies and adjacent agricultural fields and to determine changes in, and potential interactions between, the plant community and ecosystem properties that occur over time in the restored prairies. During the summers of 2000–2002, we examined species cover, soil C and N, potential net C and N mineralization, litter mass, soil texture, and bulk density across the 6‐ to 8‐year‐old prairie chronosequence and adjacent agricultural fields in southern Minnesota. We also established experimentally fertilized, watered, and control plots in the prairie chronosequence to examine the degree of nitrogen limitation on aboveground and belowground net primary production (ANPP and BNPP). Large shifts in functional diversity occurred within three growing seasons. First‐year prairies were dominated by annuals and biennials. By the second growing season, perennial native composites had become dominant, followed by a significant shift to warm‐season C4 grasses in prairies ≥3 yr old. Ecosystem properties that changed with the rise of C4 grasses included increased BNPP, litter mass, and C mineralization rates and decreased N mineralization rates. ANPP increased significantly with N fertilization but did not vary between young and old prairies with dramatically different plant community composition. Total soil C and N were not significantly different between prairie and agricultural soils in the depths examined (0–10, 10–20, 20–35, 35–50, 50–65 cm). We compared the results from our species‐rich prairie restoration to published data on ecosystem function in other restored grasslands, such as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and old‐field successional sites. Results suggest that rapid changes in functional diversity can have large impacts on ecosystem‐level properties, causing community‐ and system‐level dynamics in species‐rich prairie restorations to converge with those from low‐diversity managed grasslands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Community- And Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Species-Rich Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Camill

McKone

Sturges

et al. 2004

Ecological Applications

178

196

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“…Carbon sequestration from the use of cover crops plus conservation tillage is greater than that from conservation tillage alone (Donigian et al 1995;Grant et al 1997;Paustian et al 1997 b;Buyanovsky and Wagner 1998). Creating permanent cover, or "set-asides", further reduces soil disturbance and allocates more carbon below ground (Barker et al 1995;Cole et al 1997;Feller and Beare 1997;Grace et al 1997;Paustian et al 1997b;Smith et al 1997b;Carter et al 1998;Huggins et al 1998).…”

Section: Cropland Management and Soil Carbonmentioning

confidence: 93%

Influences of global change on carbon sequestration by agricultural and forest soils

Hendrickson¹

2003

Environ. Rev.

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Global change -including warmer temperatures, higher CO 2 concentrations, increased nitrogen deposition, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and land use change -affects soil carbon inputs (plant litter), and carbon outputs (decomposition). Warmer temperatures tend to increase both plant litter inputs and decomposition rates, making the net effect on soil carbon sequestration uncertain. Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may be partly offset by rising soil carbon levels, but this is the subject of considerable interest, controversy, and uncertainty. Current land use changes have a net negative impact on soil carbon. Desertification and erosion associated with overgrazing and excess fuelwood harvesting, conversion of natural ecosystems into cropland and pasture land, and agricultural intensification are causing losses of soil carbon. Losses increase in proportion to the severity and duration of damage to root systems. Strategic landscape-level deployment of plants through agroforestry systems and riparian plantings may represent an efficient way to rebuild total ecosystem carbon, while also stabilizing soils and hydrologic regimes, and enhancing biodiversity. Many options exist for increasing carbon sequestration on croplands while maintaining or increasing production. These include no-till farming, additions of nitrogen fertilizers and manure, and irrigation and paddy culture. Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol has stimulated intense interest in accounting for land use change impacts on soil carbon stocks. Most Annex I parties are attempting to estimate the potential for increased agricultural soil carbon sequestration to partly offset their growing fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions. However, this will require demonstrating and verifying carbon stock changes, and raises an issue of how stringent a definition of verification will be adopted by parties. Soil carbon levels and carbon sequestration potential vary widely across landscapes. Wetlands contain extremely important reservoirs of soil carbon in the form of peat. Clay and silt soils have higher carbon stocks than sandy soils, and show a greater and more prolonged response to carbon sequestration measures such as afforestation. Increased knowledge of soil organisms and their activities can improve our understanding of how soil carbon will respond to global change. New techniques using soil organic matter fractionation and stable C isotopes are also making major contributions to our understanding of this topic.Résumé : Le changement global -incluant des températures plus élevées, de plus fortes teneurs en CO 2 , des dépositions accrues d'azote, une augmentation des fréquences des évènements météorologiques extrêmes, et l'utilisation des terres -affectent l'immobilisation du carbone dans les sols (litières végétales) et la libération du carbone (décomposition). Les températures plus élevées ont tendance à augmenter à la fois les taux d'immobilisation dans les litières et ceux de la décomposition, rendant incertain l'effet sur la séquestration ...

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“…Although the sequestration is likely to be greater initially and slower later on CRP land [18], we suppose sequestration occurs evenly over time. Eqs 10 and 11 constrain the ecosystem services objective but do not influence the economic returns objective.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns

Kovacs

West

2016

PLoS ONE

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An irrigated agricultural landscape experiencing groundwater overdraft generates economic returns and a suite of ecosystem services (in particular, groundwater supply, greenhouse gases reduction, and surface water quality). Alternative land cover choices indicate tradeoffs among the value of ecosystem services created and the economic returns. These tradeoffs are explored using efficiency frontiers that determine the least value in ecosystem services that must be given up to generate additional economic returns. Agricultural producers may switch to irrigation with surface water using on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery systems in response to groundwater overdraft, and this has consequences for the bundle of ecosystem service values and economic returns achievable from the landscape. Planning that accounts for both ecosystem service value and economic returns can achieve more value for society, as does the adoption of reservoirs though lowering the costs of irrigation, increasing groundwater levels, and reducing fuel combustion and associated GHG emissions from groundwater pumping. Sensitivity analyses of per unit value of ecosystem services, crop prices, and the groundwater and water purification model parameters indicate tradeoff among ecosystems service values, such as the use of a high-end social cost of carbon ultimately lowers groundwater supply and water purification value by more than 15%.

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Potential Carbon Benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program in the United States

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

Community- And Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Species-Rich Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Community- And Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Species-Rich Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Influences of global change on carbon sequestration by agricultural and forest soils

The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns

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