Additional carbon sequestration benefits of grassland diversity restoration: Soil C sequestration and diversity restoration
Open accessAbstract
P>1. In Europe, grassland agriculture is one of the dominant land uses. A major aim of European agri-environment policy is the management of grassland for botanical diversity conservation and restoration, together with the delivery of ecosystem services including soil carbon (C) sequestration. 2. To test whether management for biodiversity restoration has additional benefits for soil C sequestration, we investigated C and nitrogen (N) accumulation rates in soil and C and N pools in vegetation in a long-term field experiment (16 years) in which fertilizer application and plant seeding were manipulated. In addition, the abundance of the legume Trifolium pratense was manipulated for the last 2 years. To unravel the mechanisms underlying changes in soil C and N pools, we also tested for effects of diversity restoration management on soil structure, ecosystem respiration and soil enzyme activities. 3. We show that the long-term biodiversity restoration practices increased soil C and N storage especially when these treatments were combined with the recent promotion of the legume Trifolium pratense, sequestering 317 g C and 35 g N m-2 year-1 in the most successful management treatment. These high rates of C and N accumulation were associated with reduced ecosystem respiration, increased soil organic matter content and improved soil structure. Cessation of fertilizer use, however, reduced the amount of C and N contained in vegetation. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings show that long-term diversity restoration practices can yield significant benefits for soil C storage when they are combined with increased abundance of a single, sub-ordinate legume species. Moreover, we show that these management practices deliver additional ecosystem benefits such as N storage in soil and improved soil structure.
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- Authors
- De Deyn, G. B., Shiel, R. S., Ostle, N. J., McNamara, N. P., Oakley, S., Young, I., Freeman, C., Fenner, N., Quirk, H., & Bardgett, R. D.
- Affiliations
- Newcastle University (GB)
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
- Abertay University (GB)
- Bangor University (GB)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Ecology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-12-13
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 600-608
- ISSN
- 0021-8901 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1800535149
- Cited by
- 216
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 13.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Ecology (publishedVersion)
- KNAW research portal (Royal Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW)) (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
- NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- RUNE (Research UNE) (submittedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Funders
- Natural England
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/D003946/1)
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Keywords
- soil carbon sequestration, soil nitrogen storage, red clover, Fabaceae, ecosystem respiration, soil organic matter, soil structure, soil enzyme activity, grassland management, ecosystem services
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