Abstract
Due to the geographical expanse of grasslands with depleted organic matter stocks, there has been growing interest in the management of these ecosystems for C sequestration to help mitigate climate change. It is generally accepted that management practices intending to increase forage production (e.g. decreasing grazing density) result in increased soil C stocks by increasing the return of biomass inputs to the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool. However, the contribution of C inputs to stable SOC versus GHG losses, and how this is affected by soil properties, remains largely unknown, particularly within subtropical biomes. To investigate the role of soil texture and mineralogy on SOC stabilisation, we identified three different soil types with varying physical properties in close proximity (< 2 km2) to each other. We used isotopically labelled plant material (13C), placed on the soil surface versus incorporated within the mineral soil, to trace the fate of fresh residue inputs into SOM fractions that differed in their degree of protection and mechanistic interactions with the soil matrix. Weekly GHG measurements (CO2, N2O and CH4) were taken to understand the overall GHG balance resulting from C inputs (i.e. SOC accrual versus GHG losses in CO2 equivalents). In finer textured soils with a greater smectite content, SOC accrual was greater but was significantly outweighed by GHG losses, primarily from native SOC priming. The incorporation of residue within the soil increased residue-derived SOC accrual by 4- to 5-fold, whilst also suppressing the priming of native SOC. This improved understanding of how soil texture and residue placement affect the global warming mitigation potential of subtropical grassland soils will be important in determining identifiable regions that should be targeted for SOC restoration efforts by increasing C inputs.
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Acknowledgements
The project was financially supported by the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, and Water Resources as part of the National Soil Carbon Programme (Filling the Research Gap, FtRG) (project number 01203.073). The data reported in this paper were obtained at the Central Analytical Research Facility (CARF) operated by the Institute of Future Environments (QUT). We would like to thank Johannes Friedl and Rene Diocares for their work on IR-MS; Sarah Carrick for her work on soil fractionation; and Robert Rowlings for access to the site and data collection. Access to CARF is supported by generous funding from the Science and Engineering Faculty (QUT).
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Mitchell, E., Scheer, C., Rowlings, D. et al. Trade-off between ‘new’ SOC stabilisation from above-ground inputs and priming of native C as determined by soil type and residue placement. Biogeochemistry 149, 221–236 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00675-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00675-6