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Sustainable grassland intensification aims to increase plant yields whilemaintaining the ability of soil to act as a sink rather than sources ofatmospheric CO2. High biomass yields from managed grasslands, however,can be only maintained through long-term nutrient fertilization, which cansignificantly affect soil carbon (C) storage and cycling. Key questionsremain about (1) how long-term inorganic vs. organic fertilization influencessoil C stocks, and (2) how soil C gains (or losses) contribute to thelong-term C balance of managed grasslands. Using 43 years of data from apermanent grassland experiment, we show that soils not only act assignificant C sinks but have not yet reached C saturation. Evenunfertilized control soils showed C sequestration rates of 0.35 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 (i.e. 35 g C m−2 yr−1; 0–15 cm depth) between1970 and 2013. High application rates of liquid manure (i.e. cattle slurry)further increased soil C sequestration to 0.86 Mg C ha−1 yr−1(i.e. 86 g C m−2 yr−1) and a key cause of this C accrualwas greater C inputs from cattle slurry. However, average coefficients ofslurry-C retention in soils suggest that 85 % of C added yearly through liquidmanure is lost possibly via CO2 fluxes and organic C leaching. Inorganically fertilized soils (i.e. NPK) had the lowestC-gain efficiency (i.e. unit of C gained per unit of N added) and lowest Csequestration (similar to control soils). Soils receiving cattle slurryshowed higher C-gain and N-retention efficiencies compared to soilsreceiving NPK or pig slurry. We estimate that net rates ofCO2-sequestration in the top 15 cm of the soil can offset 9–25 % ofGHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from intensive management. However, because of multiple GHGsources associated with livestock farming, the net C balance of thesegrasslands remains positive (9–12 Mg CO2-equivalent ha−1 yr−1), thus contributing to climate change. Further C-gain efficiencies(e.g. reduced enteric fermentation and use of feed concentrates, betternutrient management) are required to make grassland intensification moresustainable

Long-term nutrient fertilization and the carbon balance of permanent grassland: any evidence for sustainable intensification?