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Characterizing Organic Carbon Storage in Experimental Agricultural Ditch Systems in Northeast Arkansas
Author(s) -
Iseyemi Oluwayinka,
Farris Jerry L.,
Moore Matthew T.,
Green V. Steven,
Locke Martin A.,
Choi Seo-eun
Publication year - 2019
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/sssaj2018.10.0370
Subject(s) - ditch , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage , total organic carbon , soil carbon , soil water , carbon fibers , carbon sequestration , wetland , bulk density , dissolved organic carbon , soil science , environmental chemistry , nitrogen , chemistry , geology , ecology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material , biology
Core Ideas Agricultural drainage ditches can be considered as carbon sinks. Agricultural ditches can provide an optimum environment for carbon sequestration. Soil topography influences spatial carbon storage within wetlands. Soil bulk densities influence carbon storage in wetlands.Agricultural ditches are capable of many ecological functions, including flood control and edge of field nutrient filtration. This study investigated the potential for carbon sequestration within mowed and unmowed experimental conventional and controlled (with weirs) agricultural drainage ditches. The study analyzed and compared spatial and temporal variation in soil organic carbon (OC) concentration (g C kg –1 ) and OC pool (kg C m –2 ) within a 3‐cm soil depth between treatments. Soil OC concentrations were quantified through combustion of organic matter (OM) at 400°C in a muffle furnace for 16 h using the loss on ignition (LOI) method. Soil bulk density was also determined for each ditch treatment. In both summer and winter, mean soil C concentration in ditches with weirs was similar to mean soil C concentration in ditches with no weirs (16.68 ± 0.49 vs. 16.47 ± 0.46 g C kg –1 in summer; 14.47 ± 0.75 vs. 16.27 ± 0.72 g C kg –1 in winter). Similar bulk densities (0.67 Mg m –3 , on average) and OC contents in ditches furnished comparable C pools in ditches with weirs and no weirs respectively (28.08 ± 0.75 vs. 27.88 ± 0.68 kg C m –2 in summer; 26.44 ± 1.56 vs. 30.24 ± 1.40 g C kg –1 in winter). The studied drainage ditches can therefore be considered for their contributions to the C sink, given the high values of C pool observed in the ditch treatments. This suggests agricultural drainage ditches can offer a suitable environment for C sequestration.