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Ecosystem Carbon Storage and Cycling in Restored and Native Grasslands of the Palouse Region
Author(s) -
Sánchez-de León Yaniria,
Johnson-Maynard Jodi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2012.0383
Subject(s) - perennial plant , grassland , agronomy , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , ecosystem , plant litter , carbon sequestration , conservation reserve program , vegetation (pathology) , litter , plant community , bromus inermis , ecology , biology , ecological succession , carbon dioxide , poaceae , agriculture , medicine , pathology
Conversion of marginal agricultural lands to perennial grassland vegetation has been proposed as a way to enhance terrestrial C sequestration. In the United States, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has facilitated this transition. We studied terrestrial C processes and pools in CRP set‐asides planted with exotic grasses and in native prairie remnants of the Palouse region of northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Aboveground and belowground net primary productivity and litterfall were similar between grassland types. However, prairie remnants had 65% greater root biomass, 21% more soil macroaggregates, and 53% more soil C than CRP sites. For decomposition studies, the plant species Festuca idahoensis and Symphoricarpos albus were used as representatives of the prairie community. Bromus inermis was studied in CRP sites. Decomposition rates of leaf litter were not different among plant species, but S. albus root decomposition ( k = 0.28 yr –1 ) was slower than F. idahoensis ( k = 0.56 yr –1 ) or B. inermis ( k = 0.64 yr –1 ). The C pools and processes measured in this study show that processes that return C to the atmosphere (e.g., root decomposition) are slower in prairie remnants than in the CRP sites. However, high root turnover rates and root biomass in CRP could lead to greater C sequestration in CRP sites than in prairie sites with time.