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Controls on the oxidative ratio of net primary production in agricultural ecosystems

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Abstract

Ecosystem-, biome-, and global-level oxidative ratio (OR) estimates are used to understand ecosystem gas exchange processes, and assess the sizes of the terrestrial biosphere and ocean carbon sinks, and the mechanisms controlling them. We have developed analytical methods to measure the OR of terrestrial carbon stocks from biomass chemistry that give accurate and precise estimates of ecosystem atmosphere-biosphere gas flux OR. Here we apply these techniques to agricultural ecosystems to address two uncertainties: (1) whether changing crop species distribution can change ecosystem OR, and (2) whether nutrient status can change ecosystem OR. Analyzing the top three crops in the U.S. (soybean, corn, wheat), we showed differences between the OR of net primary production (ORab) of legumes (1.109 ± 0.003) versus grass crops (corn: 1.028 ± 0.001; wheat: 1.033 ± 0.001). Our preliminary estimate of the average U.S. agriculture ORab is 1.058 in 2010, and extrapolations indicate that the U.S. agricultural ORab has increased from 1.040 in 1930, likely due to shifts in agricultural land use (e.g. oat acreage decreases while soybean acreage increases over time). We also observed that increasing nitrogen fertilization rate led to only a small increase in ORab. Taken together, our results indicate that it is possible for biome-level ORab to vary over time and space. The largest driver of ORab variation in this study was variation in crop distribution, which changed ORab by an order of magnitude more than variations in nitrogen fertilizer application.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this project was provided by NSF (DEB-0445282; DEB-0614524) and the NSF LTER program at KBS. We thank N. Clark and L. Calligan for assistance with laboratory work, and Rice University’s Shared Equipment Authority for instrument use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science, Rice University, 6100 Main St. MS 126, Houston, TX, 77005, USA

    M. E. Gallagher & C. A. Masiello

  2. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 124 Science Dr., Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    M. E. Gallagher

  3. Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Pl. #97354, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    W. C. Hockaday

  4. Urrbrae Laboratory PMB 2, CSIRO Land and Water/Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia

    J. A. Baldock

  5. Department of Plant, Soil & Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, 1066 Bogue St., East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    S. Snapp

  6. W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, 3700 East Gull Lake Dr., Hickory Corners, MI, 49060, USA

    S. Snapp & C. P. McSwiney

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  1. M. E. Gallagher
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  2. C. A. Masiello
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  3. W. C. Hockaday
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  4. J. A. Baldock
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  5. S. Snapp
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  6. C. P. McSwiney
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Correspondence to M. E. Gallagher.

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Gallagher, M.E., Masiello, C.A., Hockaday, W.C. et al. Controls on the oxidative ratio of net primary production in agricultural ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 121, 581–594 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-014-0024-9

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