Premium
Land‐use change with pasture and short rotation eucalypts impacts the soil C emissions and organic C stocks in the Cerrado biome
Author(s) -
Teixeira Rafael da Silva,
Fialho Ricardo Cardoso,
Costa Daniela Cristina,
Sousa Rodrigo Nogueira,
Santos Rafael Silva,
Teixeira Ana Paula Mendes,
Reis Thalles Guimarães,
Silva Ivo Ribeiro
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.3480
Subject(s) - environmental science , pasture , soil water , agronomy , soil organic matter , sowing , organic matter , revegetation , biome , eucalyptus , agroforestry , soil science , biology , ecosystem , ecology , land reclamation
The expansion of short rotation eucalypt plantations in low soil organic matter (SOM) sandy soils may offer an alternative to improve soil C sequestration. The goal of this study was to estimate the changes in C stocks and emissions in different SOM fractions following conversion of the native Cerrado to pasture and then to eucalypt plantation. Therefore, we studied soils under native Cerrado, planted pasture (cultivated for 34years following the clearing of the Cerrado) and eucalypt plantation (4years). The C and N stocks in particulate organic matter and mineral‐associated organic matter (MAOM) were determined 4years after eucalypt planting. Soil CO 2 ‐C, CH 4 ‐C fluxes and CO 2 ‐C concentrations in soil profile were measured in different seasons over 4years. Variation in the natural abundance of 13 C was used to partition the SOM‐C. The soil CO 2 ‐C and CH 4 ‐C fluxes were influenced by soil surface moisture ( r = 0.185 o and r = 0.430 ** , respectively), whereas only the soil CH 4 ‐C fluxes correlated with soil surface temperature ( r = 0.355 ** ). The highest soil CO 2 ‐C flux in soil under eucalypt occurred after 4years of eucalypt planting (2.5 kg ha −1 h −1 , approximately 70%). The pasture soil acted as a CH 4 ‐C source to the atmosphere. The pasture MAOM‐C losses in the 0.0–1.0‐m soil layers were not compensated by the new eucalypt C inputs (MAOM‐C lost ~9.6 Mg ha −1 ). In summary, the recent worldwide expansion of short rotation eucalypt plantations should be carefully considered, particularly under pasture degraded soil sandy soils, because land uses able to increase SOM are priorities.