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Title: Early accumulation of active fraction soil carbon in newly established cellulosic biofuel systems

Journal Article · · Geoderma
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We examined relative changes in soil C pools shortly after the establishment of six perennial and two annual bioenergy cropping systems that differed in diversity (monoculture vs. polyculture). Perennial systems included two monocultures (switchgrass, Panicum virgatum; and miscanthus, Miscanthus × giganteus) and four polycultures including hybrid poplar (Populus sp.) + herbaceous understory; mixed native grasses, successional vegetation, and restored prairie. Two annual systems included no-till continuous corn (Zea mays) and rotational corn (corn-soybean (Glycine max)-canola (Brassica napus)). Each crop was planted in a full factorial design at both a moderate fertility Alfisol and a high fertility Mollisol site. Relative differences in active, slow, and passive C pools in surface soils, where C changes are most likely to be detected early, were evaluated with 322-day laboratory incubations followed by acid hydrolysis to infer different pools from exponential decay curves. Five years post-establishment, active C pools under perennial polycultures at the Alfisol site were up to twice those under annual and perennial monocultures, and followed the order hybrid poplars (696 ± 216 μg C g-1 soil, n = 5 replicate blocks) ≈ native grasses (656 ± 155) ≈ restored prairie (638 ± 44) > early successional (500 ± 54) ≫ continuous corn (237 ± 68) ≈ rotational corn (180 ± n.a.). Active C pools in perennial monocultures were similar to those in continuous corn: switchgrass (274 ± 29) ≈ miscanthus (299 ± 9). In contrast, differences in active C pools among crops at the more fertile Mollisol site were not detectable except for greater pools in the restored prairie and rotational corn systems. At both sites, slow and passive C pools differed little among systems except that slow pools were greater in the poplar system. That diversity rather than perenniality itself led to greater active C pools suggests that polycultures might be used to accelerate soil C accumulation in bioenergy and other perennial cropping systems.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
FCO2-07ER64494; FC02-07ER64494
OSTI ID:
1631763
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1506648
Journal Information:
Geoderma, Journal Name: Geoderma Vol. 318 Journal Issue: C; ISSN 0016-7061
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Netherlands
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 34 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Cited By (5)

Soil organic carbon sequestration and its stability after vegetation restoration in the Loess Hilly Region, China journal January 2020
Litter quantity, litter chemistry, and soil texture control changes in soil organic carbon fractions under bioenergy cropping systems of the North Central U.S. journal April 2019
Microbial spatial footprint as a driver of soil carbon stabilization journal July 2019
Sustainable intensification of high-diversity biomass production for optimal biofuel benefits journal November 2018
X-ray computed tomography to predict soil N 2 O production via bacterial denitrification and N 2 O emission in contrasting bioenergy cropping systems journal September 2018

Figures / Tables (6)

Fig. 1(p. 4)figure Fig. 1
Fig. 2(p. 5)figure Fig. 2
Fig. 3(p. 6)figure Fig. 3
Table 1(p. 6)table Table 1
Table 2(p. 7)table Table 2
Table 3(p. 7)table Table 3

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