Carbon sequestration under Miscanthus : a study of 13 C distribution in soil aggregates
Open accessAbstract
The growing of bioenergy crops has been widely suggested as a key strategy in mitigating anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. However, the full mitigation potential of these crops cannot be assessed without taking into account their effect on soil carbon (C) dynamics. Therefore, we analyzed the C dynamics through four soil depths under a 14‐year‐old Miscanthus plantation, established on former arable land. An adjacent arable field was used as a reference site. Combining soil organic matter (SOM) fractionation with 13 C natural abundance analyses, we were able to trace the fate of Miscanthus ‐derived C in various physically protected soil fractions. Integrated through the whole soil profile, the total amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) was higher under Miscanthus than under arable crop, this difference was largely due to the input of new C. The C stock of the macroaggregates (M) under Miscanthus was significantly higher than those in the arable land. Additionally, the C content of the micro‐within macroaggregates (mM) were higher in the Miscanthus soil as compared with the arable soil. Analysis of the intramicroaggregates particulate organic matter (POM) suggested that the increase C storage in mM under Miscanthus was caused by a decrease in disturbance of M. Thus, the difference in C content between the two land use systems is largely caused by soil C storage in physically protected SOM fractions. We conclude that when Miscanthus is planted on former arable land, the resulting increase in soil C storage contributes considerably to its CO 2 mitigation potential.
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Little information was available on parameters affecting soil organic carbon accumulation in slowly decomposable or recalcitrant forms.
“Although some papers recorded specific fractions of SOC [11, 45, 46], little information was available on parameters affecting SOC accumulation in slowly decomposable or ‘recalcitrant’ forms [25, 35, 47].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Data for carbon inputs from belowground biomass are difficult to interpret, especially for roots, because they are based on many single observations rather than time series.
“Data for C inputs from BGB are difficult to interpret, especially for roots because they are based on many single observations [45, 61, 62, 64, 80] rather than time series [26, 32, 81–83].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Considering the enrichment in the labile fraction, it was suggested that at least 20 years was needed to evaluate the impact of Miscanthus in terms of sustainable soil organic carbon enrichment, which contradicted earlier estimates.
“Considering the enrichment in the labile fraction [86, 135, 139], it was suggested that at least 20 years was needed to evaluate the impact of Miscanthus in terms of sustainable SOC enrichment, which contradicted earlier estimates [19, 45, 106, 135].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Carbon inputs originate from and feed into pools of different stability, and initially carbon is stored as particulate organic matter, which is a relatively slow soil organic carbon pool under switchgrass.
“C inputs originate from and feed into pools of different stability [45, 141], and initially, C is stored as particulate organic matter (POM) [139], which is a relatively slow SOC pool under switchgrass [25, 47].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
For belowground biomass, inputs from herbaceous crop roots and rhizomes needed to be separated, which was not always done.
“For the BGB, inputs from HCG roots and rhizomes needed to be separated, which was not always done [45, 57, 86, 106].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
The intra-aggregate fraction of particulate organic matter is small but could be a close approximation.
“The intra-aggregate fraction of POM [45, 139] is small but could be a close approximation.”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Dondini et al. applied a soil fractionation technique to improve calibration of SOC pools and account for the recalcitrant nature of plant residues.
“Dondini et al. [45] applied a soil fractionation technique [141] to improve the calibration of SOC pools and to account for the recalcitrant nature of plant residues.”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Other research differentiated inter- and intra-aggregate and particulate OM to derive pools fitting different model concepts.
“Other research differentiated inter- and intra-aggregate and particulate OM to derive pools fitting the different model concepts [45].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
So far, modelling SOC under biofuel crops has mainly relied on C inputs approximated from crop yields.
“So far, modelling SOC under biofuel crops has mainly relied on C inputs approximated from crop yields [19, 45, 86, 139].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
The modelling of SOC fractionation seems essential for the persistence and sustainability of C sequestration.
“The modelling of SOC fractionation seems essential for the persistence and sustainability of C sequestration, showing that initially new SOC is part of easily decomposable POM [139] and later part of the inter-aggregate fraction [25, 45].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
Initially new SOC is part of easily decomposable POM and later part of the inter-aggregate fraction.
“The modelling of SOC fractionation seems essential for the persistence and sustainability of C sequestration, showing that initially new SOC is part of easily decomposable POM [139] and later part of the inter-aggregate fraction [25, 45].”
From Carbon Sequestration by Perennial Energy Crops: Is the Jury Still Out? (2015) · cites this paper as [45]
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“This interest in such land management approaches stems from the understanding that soils inherently low in C, such as marginally productive croplands, have greater capacities for long-term C storage compared to fertile croplands (Coleman et al. 2004; Dondini et al. 2009).”
- Authors
- DONDINI, M., VAN GROENIGEN, K., DEL GALDO, I., & JONES, M. B.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Corresponding author
- DONDINI, MARTA
- Venue
- GCB Bioenergy
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-10
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 321-330
- ISSN
- 1757-1693 (ISSN-L)
- 1757-1707
- OpenAlex
- W1920732500
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 6.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- GCB Bioenergy (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Teagasc
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Bioenergy crop production and management
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Keywords
- Miscanthus, soil organic carbon, carbon sequestration, energy crops, soil aggregates, macroaggregates, microaggregates, particulate organic matter, soil organic matter fractions, 13C natural abundance, land use change, arable land, carbon storage, CO2 emission reduction
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