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Cited by 142Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsLand Use and Ecosystem ServicesSoil erosion and sediment transport

The grassland carbon cycle: Mechanisms, responses to global changes, and potential contribution to carbon neutrality

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Liu, Lingli, Sayer, Emma J., Deng, Meifeng, Li, Ping, Liu, Weixing, Wang, Xin, Yang, Sen, Huang, Junsheng +6 more·2023·Fundamental Research
DOI 10.1016/j.fmre.2022.09.028PMC PMC11197582
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Abstract

Grassland is one of the largest terrestrial biomes, providing critical ecosystem services such as food production, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Global climate change and land-use intensification have been causing grassland degradation and desertification worldwide. As one of the primary medium for ecosystem energy flow and biogeochemical cycling, grassland carbon (C) cycling is the most fundamental process for maintaining ecosystem services. In this review, we first summarize recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning spatial and temporal patterns of the grassland C cycle, discuss the importance of grasslands in regulating inter- and intra-annual variations in global C fluxes, and explore the previously unappreciated complexity in abiotic processes controlling the grassland C balance, including soil inorganic C accumulation, photochemical and thermal degradation, and wind erosion. We also discuss how climate and land-use changes could alter the grassland C balance by modifying the water budget, nutrient cycling and additional plant and soil processes. Further, we examine why and how increasing aridity and improper land use may induce significant losses in grassland C stocks. Finally, we identify several priorities for future grassland C research, including improving understanding of abiotic processes in the grassland C cycle, strengthening monitoring of grassland C dynamics by integrating ground inventory, flux monitoring, and modern remote sensing techniques, and selecting appropriate plant species combinations with suitable traits and strong resistance to climate fluctuations, which would help design sustainable grassland restoration strategies in a changing climate.

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  • Estimations of the extent of grasslands globally and their current SOC stocks vary across studies due to the definition of grasslands and data uncertainties.

    “Estimation of the extent of grasslands globally and their current SOC stocks vary across studies due to the definition of grasslands and data uncertainties35,38,39.”

    From Risk to rely on soil carbon sequestration to offset global ruminant emissions (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

    The Introduction estimates that grasslands cover about 40% of land, and ‘The soil dominates grassland organic carbon storage’ gives a range for global grassland carbon storage. ‘Improving the accuracy of grassland carbon sink estimates’ describes uncertainty from spatial heterogeneity, methods, and upscaling. The copy does not say that differing definitions of grasslands cause estimates of their extent or current SOC stocks to vary; its stated uncertainty concerns carbon-sink estimates. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Authors
Liu, L., Sayer, E. J., Deng, M., Li, P., Liu, W., Wang, X., Yang, S., Huang, J., Luo, J., Su, Y., Grünzweig, J. M., Jiang, L., Hu, S., & Piao, S.
Affiliations
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • University of Zurich (CH)
  • Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (CN)
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
  • North Carolina State University (US)
  • Peking University (CN)
Corresponding author
Liu, Lingli
ORCID
Venue
Fundamental Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-03
Volume
3
Issue
2
Pages
209-218
ISSN
  • 2096-9457 (ISSN-L)
  • 2667-3258
DOI
10.1016/j.fmre.2022.09.028
PMC
PMC11197582
OpenAlex
W4307145828
Cited by
142
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 13
FWCI
1.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Fundamental Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (31988102, 32125025)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA23080301, XDA26010303)
  • Israel Science Foundation (1796/19)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
Keywords
grassland carbon cycle, carbon balance, carbon neutrality, climate change impacts, land use intensification, grassland degradation, desertification, soil inorganic carbon, photodegradation, thermal degradation, wind erosion, aridity, carbon stocks, carbon flux, grassland restoration, plant functional traits, carbon monitoring

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