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High stocks, but slow recovery, of ecosystem carbon in southern oceanic tussock grasslands

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Abstract

Peat-forming large-tussock grasslands on oceanic and sub-Antarctic islands are fundamentally understudied in terms of carbon (C) storage. Here, we quantify both plant and soil C and nitrogen (N) storage for the large tussock grass Poa flabellata in the Falkland Islands, at its most northerly range. In this study, we adopt a spatially explicit sampling approach to accounting for tussock and inter-tussock (between tussocks) areas for three habitats; remnant stands (surviving clearance and overgrazing), restored stands (planted) and eroded bare peat sites. We found that remnant stands of P. flabellata have above-ground C densities of 49.8 ± 9.7 Mg C ha−1, equivalent to temperate and boreal forests. The majority of above-ground C is stored within the pedestal, a compact accumulation of dead leaves, rhizomes and roots. By surveying restored stands of increasing age we found that such C accrual may take longer than two decades. Soil C stocks were horizontally and vertically spatially variable and did not differ between habitat types. Plant and soil C and N stocks were strongly coupled identifying the important role of N availability for C accrual in this system. Scaling-up our results, planting tussock grass could accrue up to 0.9 million Mg C on a decadal timescale across the islands, yet the impact of replanting on soil C storage is likely to be more variable. Our results highlight the local and regional importance of large tussock grasslands as dense C stores and that land management and conservation of these communities needs to be more carbon-conscious.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the farmers and landowners involved in this work and particularly the valuable insights and support from Ben Bernsten, Sally Poncet, Dion Poncet and Juliette Hennequin. Arwyn Edwards and Richard Hill provided analytical assistance to determine C and N concentrations. We would like to thank constructive inputs on earlier versions of manuscript from Rodney G. Burton, James D.M. Speed and Anne Jungblut. SWS was funded by Darwin Plus Initiative Project (DPLUS023) via Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK and Shackleton Scholarship Fund (2015/2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Falklands Conservation, Jubilee Villas, Ross Road, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands

    Stuart W. Smith & Susanna Karlsson

  2. Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Stuart W. Smith

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  1. Stuart W. Smith
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Correspondence to Stuart W. Smith.

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Smith, S.W., Karlsson, S. High stocks, but slow recovery, of ecosystem carbon in southern oceanic tussock grasslands. Polar Biol 40, 1617–1628 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2084-5

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