Spatial and temporal changes of soil C after establishment of a pasture on a long-term cultivated vertisol (Martinique)

Chevallier, Tiphaine; Voltz, Marc; Blanchart, Éric; Chotte, Jean Luc; Eschenbrenner, Vincent; Mahieu, Maurice; Albrecht, Alain

doi:10.1016/s0016-7061(99)00064-6

Cited by 64 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Soil carbon stocks display a high spatial variability (coef®cient of variation of 50%; Cannell et al 1999) in grassland as compared to arable land, and c. 15% of this variability comes from sampling to different depths (Robles & Burke 1998;Chevallier et al 2000;Bird et al 2002). According to Conant et al (2001), in a recent review of soil carbon changes below temperate and tropical grasslands, a major factor accounting for changes in SOM content is the climate, because it affects differently the net primary productivity and the soil N mineralization.…”

Section: R E S U L T S a N D Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon cycling and sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands

Soussana¹,

Loiseau²,

Vuichard

et al. 2004

Soil Use and Management

233

201

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Abstract. Temperate grasslands account for c. 20% of the land area in Europe. Carbon accumulation in grassland ecosystems occurs mostly below ground and changes in soil organic carbon stocks may result from land use changes (e.g. conversion of arable land to grassland) and grassland management. Grasslands also contribute to the biosphere±atmosphere exchange of non-CO 2 radiatively active trace gases, with¯uxes intimately linked to management practices. In this article, we discuss the current knowledge on carbon cycling and carbon sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands. First, from a simple two-parameter exponential model ®tted to literature data, we assess soil organic carbon¯uxes resulting from land use change (e.g. between arable and grassland) and from grassland management. Second, we discuss carbon¯uxes within the context of farming systems, including crop±grass rotations and farm manure applications. Third, using a grassland ecosystem model (PaSim), we provide estimates of the greenhouse gas balance, in CO 2 equivalents, of pastures for a range of stocking rates and of N fertilizer applications. Finally, we consider carbon sequestration opportunities for France resulting from the restoration of grasslands and from the deintensi®cation of intensive livestock breeding systems. We emphasize major uncertainties concerning the magnitude and non-linearity of soil carbon stock changes in agricultural grasslands as well as the emissions of N 2 O from soil and of CH 4 from grazing livestock.

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Section: R E S U L T S a N D Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon cycling and sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands

Soussana¹,

Loiseau²,

Vuichard

et al. 2004

Soil Use and Management

233

201

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…SOC stocks display a high spatial variability (coefficient of variation of 50%; Cannell et al, 1999) in grassland as compared to arable land, which limits the accuracy of direct determinations of C stock changes. The variability in SOC contents is increased by sampling to different depths (Robles and Burke, 1998;Chevallier et al, 2000;Bird et al, 2002) and in pastures by excretal returns concentrated in patches.…”

Section: Grassland Carbon Sequestrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating the greenhouse gas balance of ruminant production systems through carbon sequestration in grasslands

Soussana

Tallec

Blanfort

2010

Animal

418

289

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Soil carbon sequestration (enhanced sinks) is the mechanism responsible for most of the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential in the agriculture sector. Carbon sequestration in grasslands can be determined directly by measuring changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and indirectly by measuring the net balance of C fluxes. A literature search shows that grassland C sequestration reaches on average 5 6 30 g C/m 2 per year according to inventories of SOC stocks and 2231 and 77 g C/m 2 per year for drained organic and mineral soils, respectively, according to C flux balance. Off-site C sequestration occurs whenever more manure C is produced by than returned to a grassland plot. The sum of on-and off-site C sequestration reaches 129, 98 and 71 g C/m 2 per year for grazed, cut and mixed European grasslands on mineral soils, respectively, however with high uncertainty. A range of management practices reduce C losses and increase C sequestration: (i) avoiding soil tillage and the conversion of grasslands to arable use, (ii) moderately intensifying nutrient-poor permanent grasslands, (iii) using light grazing instead of heavy grazing, (iv) increasing the duration of grass leys; (v) converting grass leys to grass-legume mixtures or to permanent grasslands. With nine European sites, direct emissions of N 2 O from soil and of CH 4 from enteric fermentation at grazing, expressed in CO 2 equivalents, compensated 10% and 34% of the on-site grassland C sequestration, respectively. Digestion inside the barn of the harvested herbage leads to further emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O by the production systems, which were estimated at 130 g CO 2 equivalents/m 2 per year. The net balance of on-and off-site C sequestration, CH 4 and N 2 O emissions reached 38 g CO 2 equivalents/m 2 per year, indicating a non-significant net sink activity. This net balance was, however, negative for intensively managed cut sites indicating a source to the atmosphere. In conclusion, this review confirms that grassland C sequestration has a strong potential to partly mitigate the GHG balance of ruminant production systems. However, as soil C sequestration is both reversible and vulnerable to disturbance, biodiversity loss and climate change, CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from the livestock sector need to be reduced and current SOC stocks preserved.

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“…Soil C stocks display a high spatial variability (coefficient of variation of 50%, Cannell et al 1999) in grassland as compared to arable land and ca. 15% of this variability comes from sampling to different depths (Robles and Burke 1998;Chevallier et al 2000;Bird et al 2002). In addition to measurement of changes in bulk SOC, other techniques are now being used to better understand SOC turnover.…”

Section: Measuring Changes In Carbon In the Soilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sectoral approaches to improve regional carbon budgets

et al. 2008

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Humans utilise about 40% of the earth's net primary production (NPP) but the products of this NPP are often managed by different sectors, with timber and forest products managed by the forestry sector and food and fibre products from croplands and grasslands managed by the agricultural sector. Other significant anthropogenic impacts on Climatic Change (2008) the global carbon cycle include human utilization of fossil fuels and impacts on less intensively managed systems such as peatlands, wetlands and permafrost. A great deal of knowledge, expertise and data is available within each sector. We describe the contribution of sectoral carbon budgets to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Whilst many sectors exhibit similarities for carbon budgeting, some key differences arise due to differences in goods and services provided, ecology, management practices used, landmanagement personnel responsible, policies affecting land management, data types and availability, and the drivers of change. We review the methods and data sources available for assessing sectoral carbon budgets, and describe some of key data limitations and uncertainties for each sector in different regions of the world. We identify the main gaps in our knowledge/data, show that coverage is better for the developed world for most sectors, and suggest how sectoral carbon budgets could be improved in the future. Research priorities include the development of shared protocols through site networks, a move to full carbon accounting within sectors, and the assessment of full greenhouse gas budgets.

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Spatial and temporal changes of soil C after establishment of a pasture on a long-term cultivated vertisol (Martinique)

Cited by 64 publications

References 16 publications

Carbon cycling and sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands

Carbon cycling and sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands

Mitigating the greenhouse gas balance of ruminant production systems through carbon sequestration in grasslands

Sectoral approaches to improve regional carbon budgets

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