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Soil carbon stock in typical grasslands in Japan
Author(s) -
Nakagami Koji,
Hojito Masayuki,
Itano Shiro,
Kohyama Kazunori,
Miyaji Tomoko,
Nishiwaki Aya,
Matsuura Shoji,
Tsutsumi Michio,
Kano Shunpei
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
grassland science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1744-697X
pISSN - 1744-6961
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-697x.2009.00145.x
Subject(s) - grassland , pasture , soil water , environmental science , agronomy , soil carbon , agroforestry , soil type , forestry , soil science , geography , biology
To evaluate the carbon (C) sequestration function of grassland soils in Japan, soil C stocks were measured in 24 grasslands (3–43‐year‐old pastures) across 14 livestock farms nationwide. Soil C stocks varied among soil types, and the values in the upper 25 and 50 cm were higher in Andosols (mean, 12.4 and 19.3 kg m −2 , respectively) than in Brown Forest soils (7.5 and 13.7 kg m −2 ) and other soil types (5.5 and 7.5 kg m −2 ). At the same time, C stocks varied among pastures within each soil type. Compared to data from the published work on the C content shortly after pasture establishment, aged pastures had decreasing C concentrations as the soil depth increased, suggesting substantial C accumulation in the top soil layers during pasture aging. This C accumulation caused grassland soils to store as much C as adjacent forest soils. Although the C stocks in the grassland soils were not statistically different from those in the adjacent native forest soils, some grassland areas stored greater amounts of C than the forests, indicating a possibility of increasing soil C stocks through improved grassland management.