Abstract
The increasing importance of short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations for bioenergy production makes it crucial to evaluate their carbon (C) sink potential and to understand which sustainable practices could increase productivity and C sequestration. This study examined the combined effect of woody ash and nitrogen (N) fertilization on the productivity, net C balance (NECB) and soil C sink capacity of a poplar SRC plantation established on a former arable land in northern Italy. Above- (ANPP) and below-ground (BNPP) primary productivity, including both root litter and rhizodeposition (Croot litter), were estimated by a combination of inventory methods, soil respiration measurements and C budgeting approaches. NECB was estimated as changes in both plant and soil C pools, and the portion of soil organic carbon (SOC) derived from poplar leaf and root litter was estimated using a combination of in-growth cores and isotopic measurements. Nitrogen application at 100 kg ha−1 increased ANPP in terms of C accumulation only in the first year, while NECB was not affected by treatments and was 9.96 Mg C ha−1 year−1 on average. Irrespective of the treatment, the plantation accumulated on average 0.7 Mg C ha−1 year−1 of SOC and the poplar-derived soil C input was 3.0 Mg ha−1 year−1. Positive NECB shows that the studied SRC resulted in an important C sink even in the first years after the establishment. However, long-term studies are needed to better assess the effect of N and ash application on C and nutrient cycles over more than one rotation period.
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Abbreviations
- AWB:
-
Aboveground woody biomass, expressed as Mg dry mass ha−1
- ΔAWB:
-
Aboveground woody biomass increment, expressed as Mg dry mass ha−1
- Pleaf litter :
-
Leaf litter productivity expressed as Mg dry mass ha−1
- ANPPdm :
-
Aboveground net primary productivity, expressed as Mg dry mass ha−1
- Cwoody biomass :
-
C stock in aboveground standing biomass
- ΔCwoody biomass :
-
Increment in the C stock in aboveground standing biomass
- Cleaf litter :
-
C stock of leaf litter
- ANPP:
-
Aboveground net primary productivity, expressed as Mg C ha−1
- FRB:
-
Fine root biomass
- CRB:
-
Coarse roots biomass
- ∆CRB:
-
Coarse roots biomass increment
- ∆FRB:
-
Fine root biomass increment
- ∆RB:
-
Total root biomass increment
- Ccoarse roots :
-
C stock in coarse roots
- Cfine roots :
-
C stock in fine roots
- ∆Ccoarse roots :
-
Increment of C stock in coarse roots
- ∆Cfine roots :
-
Increment of C stock in fine roots
- ∆Ctotal roots :
-
Increment of C stock in total roots
- TOC:
-
Total soil organic C stock
- ∆Csoil :
-
Change in soil organic C stock
- NEP:
-
Net ecosystem productivity
- NECB:
-
Net ecosystem carbon balance
- Rh:
-
Heterotrophic respiration
- Croot litter :
-
C flux to the soil associated to root litter and rhizodeposition
- BNPP:
-
Belowground net primary productivity, expressed as Mg C ha−1
- NPP:
-
Net primary productivity, expressed as Mg C ha−1
- Cinput :
-
amount of poplar-derived C in soil
- Cold :
-
C stock in the original soil organic matter
- ∆Cold :
-
change of C stock in the original soil organic matter
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Acknowledgements
This work has been funded by Regione Emilia Romagna within the project “CRPV 2007—FILIERE AGROENERGETICHE: gestione sostenibile di specie da biomassa”. We would like to thank the Società Produttori Sementi s.p.a., for providing and managing the experimental site. We thanks also Marcello Papotti and Carlo Marconcini for the help provided in field measurements and laboratory analyses.
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Ventura, M., Panzacchi, P., Muzzi, E. et al. Carbon balance and soil carbon input in a poplar short rotation coppice plantation as affected by nitrogen and wood ash application. New Forests 50, 969–990 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-019-09709-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-019-09709-w