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Carbon stocks of soil and vegetation on Danubian floodplains
Author(s) -
Cierjacks Arne,
Kleinschmit Birgit,
Babinsky Maren,
Kleinschroth Fritz,
Markert Arvid,
Menzel Markus,
Ziechmann Ulrike,
Schiller Theresa,
Graf Markus,
Lang Friederike
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.200900209
Subject(s) - environmental science , floodplain , soil water , riparian zone , vegetation (pathology) , biomass (ecology) , riparian forest , forestry , ecosystem , terrestrial ecosystem , wetland , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , geography , soil science , geology , biology , habitat , medicine , pathology , geotechnical engineering
Riparian forests are assumed to play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. However, little data are available on C stocks of floodplains in comparison to other terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we quantified the C stocks of aboveground biomass and soils of riparian vegetation types at 76 sampling sites in the Donau‐Auen National Park in Austria. Based on our results and a remotely sensed vegetation map, we estimated total C stocks. Carbon stocks in soils (up to 354 t ha –1 within 1 m below surface) were huge compared to other terrestrial ecosystems. As expected, soils of different vegetation types showed different texture with a higher percentage of sandy soils at the softwood sites, while loamy soils prevailed at hardwood sites. Total C stocks of vegetation types were significantly different, but reflect differences in woody plant biomass rather than in soil C stocks. Mature hardwood and cottonwood forests proved to have significantly higher total C stocks (474 and 403 t ha –1 , respectively) than young reforestations (217 t ha –1 ) and meadows (212 t ha –1 ). The C pools of softwood forests (356 t ha –1 ) ranged between those of hardwood/cottonwood forests and of reforestations/meadows. Our study proves the relevance of floodplains as possible C sinks, which should be increasingly taken into account for river management. Furthermore, we conclude that plant‐species distribution does not indicate the conditions of sedimentation and soil C sequestration over the time span of interest for the development of soil C stocks.