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Effects of forest conversion into grassland on soil aggregate structure and carbon storage in Panama: evidence from soil carbon fractionation and stable isotopes

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Abstract

Land-use and land-cover strongly influence soil properties such as the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregate structure and SOC turnover processes. We studied the effects of a vegetation shift from forest to grassland 90 years ago in soils derived from andesite material on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. We quantified the amount of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and determined the turnover of C in bulk soil, water stable aggregates (WSA) of different size classes (<53 μm, 53–250 μm, 250–2000 μm and 2000–8000 μm) and density fractions (free light fraction, intra-aggregate particulate organic matter and mineral associated soil organic C). Total SOC stocks (0–50 cm) under forest (84 Mg C ha−1) and grassland (64 Mg C ha−1) did not differ significantly. Our results revealed that vegetation type did not have an effect on aggregate structure and stability. The investigated soils at BCI did not show higher C and N concentrations in larger aggregates, indicating that organic material is not the major binding agent in these soils to form aggregates. Based on δ13C values and treating bulk soil as a single, homogenous C pool we estimated a mean residence time (MRT) of 69 years for the surface layer (0–5 cm). The MRT varied among the different SOC fractions and among depth. In 0–5 cm, MRT of intra-aggregate particulate organic matter (iPOM) was 29 years; whereas mineral associated soil organic C (mSOC) had a MRT of 124 years. These soils have substantial resilience to C and N losses because the >90% of C and N is associated with mSOC, which has a comparatively long MRT.

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Acknowledgements

This project benefited from field and laboratory assistance from Marco Valdez, Brandy Cline, and Ian Abernethy. Thanks to Robert F. Stallard for introducing us to the study sites and George F. Vance for laboratory use. We thank Mark Larson for his help with the stable isotope analysis. Special thanks to Jonathan Anderson for his assistance with the soil fractionation. Ann E. Russell, Abbey Wick, Chris Neill and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on the manuscript. Partial funding for the research was provided by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, NASA Grant #NGT-40102, Wyoming NASA EPSCoR, NASA Grant #NCC5-578, and an International Travel Grant from the University of Wyoming to Elise Pendall.

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  1. Department of Tropical Silviculture, Institute of Silviculture, University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 1, Goettingen, 37077, Germany

    Luitgard Schwendenmann

  2. Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Elise Pendall

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  1. Luitgard Schwendenmann
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Correspondence to Luitgard Schwendenmann.

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Schwendenmann, L., Pendall, E. Effects of forest conversion into grassland on soil aggregate structure and carbon storage in Panama: evidence from soil carbon fractionation and stable isotopes. Plant Soil 288, 217–232 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9109-0

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