Soil response to long-term grazing in the northern Great Plains of North America
Abstract
Grazing management affects ecosystem function through impacts on soil condition. We investigated the effects of long-term (over 70 years) grazing on soil properties and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission within a moderately grazed native vegetation pasture (MGP), heavily grazed native vegetation pasture (HGP), and a fertilized crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex. Link) Schult.) pasture (FCWP) near Mandan, ND, USA. Grazing-induced changes in species composition and N fertilizer application contributed to differences in soil properties and N2O emission between pastures. Soil organic C (SOC) was 5.7 Mg ha-1 greater in FCWP and HGP than MGP at 0-5 cm, whereas HGP had 2.4 Mg ha-1 more SOC than FCWP and MGP at 5-10 cm. At 30-60 cm, SOC in FCWP was 4.0 and 7.5 Mg ha-1 greater than in HGP and MGP, respectively. Particulate organic matter (POM) C and N in the surface 5 cm of FCWP were three- and five-fold greater, respectively, than in HGP and MGP. Acidification from N fertilization in FCWP decreased soil pH and cation exchange capacity compared to HGP and MGP in the surface 5 cm. Annual N2O emission was over three-fold greater in FCWP compared to HGP and MGP, and was positively associated with POM-C across all pastures (P < or = 0.0001; r2 = 0.85). Results from this study suggest fertilized crested wheatgrass enhances deep storage of SOC, but contributes to surface acidification and greater N2O emission relative to native non-fertilized pastures in the northern Great Plains.
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Annual nitrous oxide emission from a crested wheatgrass pasture fertilized with synthetic nitrogen was 3.4 kg N ha-1 year-1, equating to 1.6 Mg CO2e ha-1 year-1.
“Annual N 2 O emission from a crested wheatgrass pasture fertilized with synthetic N was found to be 3.4 kg N ha -1 year -1 [19], equating to 1.6 Mg CO 2 e ha -1 year -1 , or approximately 40% of the C sequestration rate at 0-30 cm observed across sites in this study.”
From Soil Carbon Storage by Switchgrass Grown for Bioenergy (2008) · cites this paper as [19]
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Soil Carbon Storage by Switchgrass Grown for Bioenergy
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Liebig, M. A., Gross, J. R., Kronberg, S. L., Hanson, J. D., Frank, A. B., & Phillips, R. L.
- Affiliations
- Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (US)
- University of North Dakota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Liebig, M.A.
- Venue
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-07
- Volume
- 115
- Issue
- 1-4
- Pages
- 270-276
- ISSN
- 0167-8809 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1976557864
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 9.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Agricultural Research Service
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Pasture and Agricultural Systems
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Management and Crop Yield
- Keywords
- long-term grazing, soil organic carbon, nitrous oxide emissions, particulate organic matter, Agropyron cristatum, nitrogen fertilization, soil acidification, cation exchange capacity, Northern Great Plains
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