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A modelling analysis of the potential for soil carbon sequestration under short rotation coppice willow bioenergy plantations
Author(s) -
Grogan P.,
Matthews R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2002.tb00237.x
Subject(s) - carbon sequestration , environmental science , short rotation coppice , soil carbon , bioenergy , agroforestry , soil water , willow , agronomy , coppicing , bio energy with carbon capture and storage , soil organic matter , agricultural land , land use , biofuel , soil science , ecology , woody plant , carbon dioxide , biology
. Rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and their association with global climate change have led to several major international initiatives to reduce net CO 2 emissions, including the promotion of bioenergy crops such as short rotation coppice (SRC) willow. Although the above‐ground harvested bio‐fuel is likely to be the major contributor to the CO 2 mitigation potential of bioenergy crops, additional carbon may be sequestered through crop inputs into plantation soils. Here, we describe a process‐based model specifically designed to evaluate the potential for soil carbon sequestration in SRC willow plantations in the UK. According to the model predictions, we conclude that the potential for soil carbon sequestration in these plantations is comparable to, or even greater than, that of naturally regenerating woodland. Our preliminary, site‐specific model output suggests that soil carbon sequestration may constitute about 5% of the overall carbon mitigation benefit arising from SRC plantations. Sensitivity analyses identified the following factors as the principal controls on rates and amounts of soil carbon sequestration under SRC: carbon inputs (net primary production), decomposition rates of the major soil carbon pools, initial soil carbon content (an inverse relationship with rates of soil carbon sequestration), crop/plantation management, and depth of soil being influenced by the bioenergy crop. Our results suggest that carbon sequestration potential is greatest in soils whose carbon content has been depleted to relatively low levels due to agricultural land use practices such as annual deep ploughing of agricultural soils.