Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Soil carbon dynamics following afforestation of a tropical savannah with Eucalyptus in Congo

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil organic matter is a key factor in the global carbon cycle, but the magnitude and the direction of the change in soil carbon after afforestation with Eucalyptus in the tropics is still a matter of controversy. The objective of this work was to understand the dynamics of soil carbon in intensively managed Eucalyptus plantations after the afforestation of a native savannah. The isotopic composition (δ) of soil carbon (C) and soil CO2 efflux (F) were measured on a four-age chronosequence of Eucalyptus and on an adjacent savannah. δ F was used to partition F between a C3 component and a C4 component, the latter corresponding to the decomposition of a labile pool of savannah-derived soil carbon (C SL). The mean residence time of CSL was 4.6 years. This further allowed us to partition the savannah-derived soil carbon into a labile and a stable (C SS) carbon pool. C SL accounted for 30% of soil carbon in the top soil of the savannah (0–5 cm), and only 12% when the entire 0–45 cm soil layer was considered. The decrease in C SL with time after plantation was more than compensated by an increase in Eucalyptus-derived carbon, and half of the newly incorporated Eucalyptus-derived carbon in the top soil was associated with the clay and fine silt fractions in the 14-year-old. stand. Increment in soil carbon after afforestation of tropical savannah with Eucalyptus is therefore expected despite a rapid disappearance of the labile savannah-derived carbon because a large fraction of savannah-derived carbon is stable.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arrouays D, Balesdent J, Mariotti A, Girardin C (1995) Modelling organic carbon turnover in cleared temperate forest soils converted to maize cropping by using 13C natural abundance measurements. Plant Soil 173:191–196. doi:10.1007/BF00011455

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Awiti AO, Walsh MG, Kinyamario J (2008) Dynamics of topsoil carbon and nitrogen along a tropical forest-cropland chronosequence: evidence from stable isotope analysis and spectroscopy. Agric Ecosyst Environ 127:265–272. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2008.04.012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balesdent J, Mariotti A, Guillet B (1987) Natural 13C abundance as a tracer for studies of soil organic matter dynamics. Soil Biol Biochem 19:25–30. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(87)90120-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balesdent J, Balabane M (1992) Maize root-derived soil organic carbon estimated by natural 13C abundance. Soil Biol Biochem 24:97–101. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(92)90264-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balesdent J, Girardin C, Mariotti A (1993) Site-related δ13C of tree leaves and soil organic matter in a temperate forest. Ecology 74:1713–1721. doi:10.2307/1939930

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balesdent J, Balabane M (1996) Major contribution of roots to soil carbon storage inferred from maize cultivated soils. Soil Biol Biochem 28:1261–1263. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(96)00112-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balesdent J, Besnard E, Arrouays D, Chenu C (1998) The dynamics of carbon in particle-size fractions of soil in a forest-cultivation sequence. Plant Soil 201:49–57. doi:10.1023/A:1004337314970

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bashkin MA, Binkley D (1998) Changes in soil carbon following afforestation in Hawaii. Ecology 79:828–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bathellier C, Badeck F-W, Couzi P, Harscoet S, Mauve C, Ghashghaie J (2008) Divergence in δ3C of dark respired CO2 and bulk organic matter occurs during the transition between heterotrophy and autotrophy in Phaseolus vulgaris plants. New Phytol 177:406–418

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bengtson P, Bengtsson G (2007) Rapid turnover of DOC in temperate forests accounts for increased CO2 production at elevated temperatures. Ecol Lett 10:783–790. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01072.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernoux M, Cerri CC, Neill C, de Moraes JFL (1998) The use of stable carbon isotopes for estimating soil organic matter turnover rates. Geoderma 82:43–58. doi:10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00096-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Resh SC (1999) Rapid changes in soils following eucalyptus afforestation in Hawaii. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:222–225

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Kaye J, Barry M, Ryan MG (2004) First-rotation changes in soil carbon and nitrogen in a Eucalyptus plantation in Hawaii. Soil Sci Soc Am J 68:1713–1719

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bouillet J-P, Laclau J-P, Arnaud M, Thongo M’Bou A, Saint-André L, Jourdan C (2002) Changes with age in the spatial distribution of roots of Eucalyptus clone in Congo. Impact on water and nutrient uptake. For Ecol Manage 171:43–57. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(02)00460-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chemidlin Prévost-Bouré N, Ngao J, Berveiller D, Bonal D, Damesin C, Dufrêne E, Lata J-C, Le Dantec V, Longdoz B, Ponton S, Soudani K, Epron D (2009) Root exclusion through trenching does not affect the isotopic composition of soil CO2 efflux. Plant Soil (in press). doi:10.1007/s11104-008-9844-5

  • Ciglasch H, Lilienfein J, Kaiser K, Wilcke W (2004) Dissolved organic matter under native Cerrado and Pinus caribaea plantations in the Brazilian savanna. Biogeochemistry 67:157–182. doi:10.1023/B:BIOG.0000015281.74705.f8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • d’Annunzio R, Conche S, Landais D, Saint-Andre L, Joffre R, Barthes BG (2008) Pairwise comparison of soil organic particle-size distributions in native savannas and Eucalyptus plantations in Congo. Forest Ecol Manag 255:1050–1056

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Hirsch AI (2001) Carbon cycle: fertile forest experiments. Nature 411:431–433

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Moraes JFL, Volkoff B, Cerri CC, Bernoux M (1996) Soil properties under Amazon forest and changes due to pasture installation in Rondonia, Brazil. Geoderma 70:63–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deckmyn G, Muys B, Garcia Quijano J, Ceulemans R (2004) Carbon sequestration following afforestation of agricultural soils: comparing oak/beech forest to short-rotation poplar coppice combining a process and a carbon accounting model. Glob Chang Biol 10:1482–1491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delègue M-A, Fuhr M, Schwartz D, Mariotti A, Nasi R (2001) Recent origin of a large part of the forest cover in the Gabon coastal area based on stable carbon isotope data. Oecologia 129:106–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epron D, Nouvellon Y, Roupsard O, Mouvondy W, Mabiala A, Saint-André L, Joffre R, Jourdan C, Bonnefond J-M, Berbigier P, Hamel O (2004) Spatial and temporal variations of soil respiration in a Eucalyptus plantation in Congo. Forest Ecol Manag 202:149–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epron D, Nouvellon Y, Deleporte P, Ifo S, Kazotti G, Thongo M’Bou A, Mouvondy W, Saint-André L, Roupsard O, Jourdan C, Hamel O (2006) Soil carbon balance in a clonal Eucalyptus plantation in Congo: effects of logging on carbon inputs and soil CO2 efflux. Glob Chang Biol 12:1021–1031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2005) State of the world’s forests. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 144 pp

  • Feller C, Beare MH (1997) Physical control of soil organic matter dynamics in the tropics. Geoderma 79:69–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine S, Mariotti A, Abbadie L (2003) The priming effect of organic matter: a question of microbial competition? Soil Biol Biochem 35:837–843

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gavinelli E, Feller C, Larré-Larrouy M, Bacye B, Djegui N, Nzila J (1995) A routine method to study soil organic matter by particle-size fractionation: examples for tropical soils. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 26:1749–1760

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gill RA, Jackson RB (2000) Global patterns of root turnover for terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytol 147:13–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo LB, Gifford M (2002) Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis. Global Change Biol 8:345–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt JE, Kelliher FM, McSeveny TM, Ross DJ, Whitehead D (2004) Long-term carbon exchange in a sparse, seasonally dry tussock grassland. Glob Chang Biol 10:1785–1800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamet R, Rieffel JM (1976) Carte pédologique du Congo à 1/200.000, feuille Pointe-Noire, feuille Loubomo, notice d’exploitation n? 65. ORSTOM, Paris, 177 pp

  • Jandl R, Lindner M, Vesterdal L, Bauwens B, Baritz R, Hagedorn F, Johnson DW, Minkkinen K, Byrne KA (2007) How strongly can forest management influence soil carbon sequestration? Geoderma 137:253–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jolivet C, Arrouays D, Andreux F, Lévèque J (1997) Soil organic carbon dynamics in cleared temperate forest spodosols converted to maize cropping. Plant Soil 191:225–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kodama N, Barnard R, Salmon Y, Weston C, Ferrio J, Holst J, Werner R, Saurer M, Rennenberg H, Buchmann N, Gessler A (2008) Temporal dynamics of the carbon isotope composition in a Pinus sylvestris stand: from newly assimilated organic carbon to respired carbon dioxide. Oecologia 156:737–750

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzyakov Y, Friedel JK, Stahr K (2000) Review of mechanisms and quantification of priming effects. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1485–1498

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laclau J-P, Bouillet J-P, Ranger J (2000) Dynamics of biomass and nutrient accumulation in a clonal plantation of Eucalyptus in Congo. Forest Ecol Manag 128:181–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laclau JP, Sama-Poumba W, Nzila J, Bouillet JP, Ranger J (2002) Biomass and nutrient dynamics in a littoral savanna subjected to annual fires in Congo. Acta Oecol 23:41–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2005) Forest soils and carbon sequestration. For Ecol Manag 220:242–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Xu M, Zou X, Shi P, Zhang Y (2005) Comparing soil organic carbon dynamics in plantation and secondary forest in wet tropics in Puerto Rico. Global Change Biol 11:239–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lima AMN, Silva IR, Neves JCL, Novais RF, Barros NF, Mendonça ES, Smyth TJ, Moreira MS, Leite FP (2006) Soil organic carbon dynamics following afforestation of degraded pastures with eucalyptus in southeastern Brazil. For Ecol Manag 235:219–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maquère V, Laclau JP, Bernoux M, Saint-André L, Gonçalves JLM, Cerri CC, Piccolo MC, Ranger J (2008) Influence of land use (savanna, pasture, Eucalyptus plantations) on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in Brazil. Eur J Soil Sci 59:863–877

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marron N, Plain C, Longdoz B, Epron D (2009) Seasonal and daily time course of the 13C composition in soil CO2 efflux recorded with a tunable diode laser spectrophotometer (TDLS). Plant Soil (in press). doi:10.1007s11104-008-9824-9

  • Marsden C, Nouvellon Y, Thongo M’Bou A, Saint-Andre L, Jourdan C, Kinana A, Epron D (2008) Two independent estimations of stand-level root respiration on clonal Eucalyptus stands in Congo: up scaling of direct measurements on roots versus the trenched-plot technique. New Phytol 177:676–687

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller JB, Tans PP (2003) Calculating isotopic fractionation from atmospheric measurements at various scales. Tellus B 55:207–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngao J, Epron D, Brechet C, Granier A (2005) Estimating the contribution of leaf litter decomposition to soil CO2 efflux in a beech forest using 13C-depleted litter. Global Change Biol 11:1768–1776

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nouvellon Y, Epron D, Kinana A, Hamel O, Mabiala A, D’Annunzio R, Deleporte P, Saint-Andre L, Marsden C, Roupsard O, Bouillet J-P, Laclau J-P (2008) Soil CO2 effluxes, soil carbon balance, and early tree growth following savannah afforestation in Congo: comparison of two site preparation treatments. For Ecol Manag 255:1926–1936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul KI, Polglase PJ, Nyakuengama JG, Khanna PK (2002) Change in soil carbon following afforestation. For Ecol Manag 168:241–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul S, Flessa H, Veldkamp E, López-Ulloa M (2008) Stabilization of recent soil carbon in the humid tropics following land use changes: evidence from aggregate fractionation and stable isotope analyses. Biogeochemistry 87:247–263

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poirier N, Derenne S, Balesdent J, Rouzaud J-N, Mariotti A, Largeau C (2002) Abundance and composition of the refractory organic fraction of an ancient, tropical soil (Pointe Noire, Congo). Org Geochem 33:383–391

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Post WM, Kwon KC (2000) Soil carbon sequestration and land-use change: processes and potential. Glob Chang Biol 6:317–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resh SC, Binkley D, Parrotta JA (2002) Greater soil carbon sequestration under nitrogen-fixing trees compared with Eucalyptus species. Ecosystems 5:217–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richards AE, Dalal RC, Schmidt S (2007) Soil carbon turnover and sequestration in native subtropical tree plantations. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2078–2090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rochette P, Flanagan LB (1997) Quantifying rhizosphere respiration in a corn crop under field conditions. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61:466–474

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rochette P, Flanagan LB, Gregorich EG (1999) Separating soil respiration into plant and soil components using analyses of the natural abundance of Carbon-13. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:1207–1213

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Lichter J (2001) Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2. Nature 411:466–469

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwendenmann L, Pendall E (2006) Effects of forest conversion into grassland on soil aggregate structure and carbon storage in Panama: evidence from soil carbon fractionation and stable isotopes. Plant Soil V288:217–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Conant RT, Paul EA, Paustian K (2002) Stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter: Implications for C-saturation of soils. Plant Soil 241:155–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart C, Paustian K, Conant R, Plante A, Six J (2007) Soil carbon saturation: concept, evidence and evaluation. Biogeochemistry 86:19–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart CE, Paustian K, Conant RT, Plante AF, Six J (2008) Soil carbon saturation: evaluation and corroboration by long-term incubations. Soil Biol Biochem 40:1741–1750

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trouvé C, Mariotti A, Schwartz D, Guillet B (1994) Soil organic carbon dynamics under Eucalyptus and Pinus planted on savannas in the Congo. Soil Biol Biochem 26:287–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner J, Lambert M (2000) Change in organic carbon in forest plantation soils in eastern Australia. For Ecol Manag 133:231–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veldkamp E (1994) Organic carbon turnover in three tropical soils under pasture after deforestation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:175–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedin DA, Tieszen LL, Dewey B, Pastor J (1995) Carbon isotope dynamics during grass decomposition and soil organic matter formation. Ecology 76:1383–1392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wynn JG, Harden JW, Fries TL (2006) Stable carbon isotope depth profiles and soil organic carbon dynamics in the lower Mississippi Basin. Geoderma 131:89–109

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zinn YL, Resck DVS, Da Silva JE (2002) Soil organic carbon as affected by afforestation with Eucalyptus and Pinus in the Cerrado region of Brazil. Forest Ecol Manag 166:285–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This study was funded by the Observatoire de Recherche en Environnement F-ORE-T and the European Integrated Project Ultra Low CO2 Steelmaking (ULCOS—contract no. 515960). The authors are grateful to Claude Bréchet and Christian Hossann (UMR EEF, Nancy) for the mass spectrometry analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nancy Université, Université Henri Poincaré, Faculté des Sciences, UMR 1137, Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières, 54500, Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France

    Daniel Epron, Claire Marsden & Armel Thongo M’Bou

  2. INRA, UMR 1137, Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières, Centre de Nancy, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Daniel Epron

  3. UR2PI, BP 1291, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

    Claire Marsden, Armel Thongo M’Bou, Rémi d’Annunzio & Yann Nouvellon

  4. CIRAD, UPR-80, Campus de Baillarguet TA 10/D, 34398, Montpellier cedex 5, France

    Claire Marsden, Laurent Saint-André, Rémi d’Annunzio & Yann Nouvellon

  5. UMR INRA UHP ‘Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières’, Université Henri Poincaré, 54506, Vandoeuvre cedex, France

    Daniel Epron

Authors
  1. Daniel Epron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claire Marsden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Armel Thongo M’Bou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Laurent Saint-André
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rémi d’Annunzio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yann Nouvellon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Epron.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Johan Six.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Epron, D., Marsden, C., Thongo M’Bou, A. et al. Soil carbon dynamics following afforestation of a tropical savannah with Eucalyptus in Congo. Plant Soil 323, 309–322 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-9939-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-9939-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation