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How does soil particulate organic carbon respond to grazing intensity in permanent grasslands?

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Abstract

Background and aims

Modification in grazing intensity causes functional changes in permanent grasslands, e.g. in carbon (C) cycling. However, we still know little about how the soil organic C of permanent grasslands responds to grazing intensity.

Methods

In a grassland experiment with three levels of grazing intensity, we monitored root and rhizome C stocks, particulate organic C stocks, total soil C stocks, above-ground net primary production and plant species groups abundance over 7 years. A simple model was used to estimate the mortality of roots and rhizomes, decomposition rates of particulate organic C, and C fluxes under different grazing intensities.

Results

After 7 years, low grazing intensity and no grazing led to a modification in above-ground vegetation (production, plant species composition, nitrogen content) and a reduction in C transferred between roots and particulate organic matter fractions, while the C stocks of root and rhizomes, particulate organic matter and total soil were not significantly affected by grazing intensity. However, particulate organic C showed a strong interannual variability.

Conclusion

Particulate organic C could have reacted more slowly than expected to changes in grazing intensity, or a marked interannual variability of particulate organic C stocks, through an increase in decomposition rates in all the grazing treatments, could have slowed down the accumulation of particulate organic C and masked the effect of the grazing intensity treatments.

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Abbreviations

AB:

Abandonment treatment

ANPP:

Above-ground net primary production

BNPP:

Below-ground net primary production

AOM:

Aggregated organic matter

AOC:

Aggregated organic carbon

Cat−:

Low cattle grazing intensity treatment

Cat+:

High cattle grazing intensity treatment

cPOM:

Coarse particulate organic matter

cPOC:

Coarse particulate organic carbon

DMD:

Dry matter digestibility

fPOM:

Fine particulate organic matter

fPOC:

Fine particulate organic carbon

LSU:

Livestock unit

MRT:

Mean residence time

NC:

Nitrogen content

NIRS:

Near infrared spectroscopy

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a doctoral fellowship from VetagroSup and DGER “pole ESTIVE” to DH. The authors thank Priscilla Note, Vincent Guillot and Olivier Darsonville for assistance with site management, field sampling and data collection on SOERE-ACBB research facilities. We also thank Laurence Andanson and Louise Mackovcin for laboratory support. This manuscript was greatly improved thanks to comments by Dr K. Klumpp and three anonymous referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UR874 (Unité de Recherche sur l’Ecosystème Prairial), 5 chemin de Beaulieu, F-63039, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Herfurth Damien, Vassal Nathalie, Louault Frédérique, Alvarez Gael, Pottier Julien, Picon-Cochard Catherine, Bosio Isabelle & Carrère Pascal

  2. Clermont Université, VetAgroSup, Campus Agronomique de Clermont, 89 avenue de l’Europe, F-63370, Lempdes, France

    Herfurth Damien, Vassal Nathalie & Alvarez Gael

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  1. Herfurth Damien
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  2. Vassal Nathalie
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  3. Louault Frédérique
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  4. Alvarez Gael
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Correspondence to Vassal Nathalie.

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Damien, H., Nathalie, V., Frédérique, L. et al. How does soil particulate organic carbon respond to grazing intensity in permanent grasslands?. Plant Soil 394, 239–255 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2528-z

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