Quantifying the effects of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) on deep organic C stocks using natural abundance 14 C in three marginal soils

Slessarev, Eric W.; Nuccio, Erin E.; McFarlane, Karis J.; Ramon, Christina E.; Saha, Malay; Firestone, Mary K.; Pett‐Ridge, Jennifer

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12729

Title: Quantifying the effects of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) on deep organic C stocks using natural abundance ¹⁴ C in three marginal soils

Journal Article · Fri Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12729· OSTI ID:1646895

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Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore CA USA
Noble Research Institute Ardmore OK USA
Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department University of California, Berkeley Berkeley CA USA

Perennial bioenergy crops have been shown to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, potentially offsetting anthropogenic C emissions. The effects of perennial bioenergy crops on SOC are typically assessed at shallow depths (<30 cm), but the deep root systems of these crops may also have substantial effects on SOC stocks at greater depths. We hypothesized that deep (>30 cm) SOC stocks would be greater under bioenergy crops relative to stocks under shallow-rooted conventional crop cover. To test this, we sampled soils to between 1- and 3-m depth at three sites in Oklahoma with 10- to 20-year-old switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) stands, and collected paired samples from nearby fields cultivated with shallow rooted annual crops. We measured root biomass, total organic C, ¹⁴C, ¹³C, and other soil properties in three replicate soil cores in each field and used a mixing model to estimate the proportion of recently fixed C under switchgrass based on ¹⁴C. The subsoil C stock under switchgrass (defined over 500–1500&² equivalent soil mass, approximately 30–100cm depth) exceeded the subsoil stock in neighboring fields by 1.5 kg C/m² at a sandy loam site, 0.6 kg C/m² at a site with loam soils, and showed no significant difference at a third site with clay soils. Using the mixing model, we estimated that additional SOC introduced after switchgrass cultivation comprised 31% of the subsoil C stock at the sandy loam site, 22% at the loam site, and 0% at the clay site. These results suggest that switchgrass can contribute significantly to subsoil organic C—but also indicated that this effect varies across sites. Our analysis shows that agricultural strategies that emphasize deep-rooted grass cultivars can increase soil C relative to conventional crops while expanding energy biomass production on marginal lands.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: 19‐ERD‐010; DE‐SC0014079; SCW1555; SCW1632; DE‐AC52‐07NA27344; AC52-07NA27344; SC0014079; 19-ERD-010

OSTI ID:: 1646895

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1642369; OSTI ID: 1646896

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-808298

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy; ISSN 1757-1693

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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Cited by: 20 works

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Title: Quantifying the effects of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) on deep organic C stocks using natural abundance 14 C in three marginal soils

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Title: Quantifying the effects of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) on deep organic C stocks using natural abundance ¹⁴ C in three marginal soils