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Carbon flow through energycane agroecosystems established post-intensive agriculture

Journal Article · · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12713· OSTI ID:1850245
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [5];  [6]
  1. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States). Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management; Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  2. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States). Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
  3. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (Germany). Dept. of Biogeochemical Processes
  4. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States). Dept. of Tropical Plants and Soil Sciences. St. John Plant Science Lab.
  5. Texas A & M Univ., Temple, TX (United States). Texas A & M AgriLife Research. Blackland Research and Extension Center
  6. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Temple, TX (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Grassland Soil and Water Research Lab.
+ Show Author Affiliations
As part of an integrated energy and climate system, biomass production for bioenergy based on the tropical perennial C4 grass energycane can both offset fossil fuels and store soil carbon (C). We measured energycane yields, root biomass, soil C pools, and soil C stocks in a 4 year field trial and modeled C flow from plants to soils in the surface layer of no-till energycane planted after more than a century of intensive sugarcane agriculture. Aboveground yields ranged from 16.7 to 19.0 Mg C/ha over the 4 year trial. Although total C stocks did not significantly differ in the surface layer (approx. 0–20 cm) during the study, C in free and occluded light fractions decreased, whereas C in the mineral-rich dense fraction increased over 4 years. Belowground system inputs, estimated from measurements and informed by convergence in the final soil fraction model, were set to 2.5 Mg C ha-1 year-1. With this input value, we estimated that surface soils retained photosynthetically fixed C predominantly within the mineral-associated organic matter pool for a mean and median transit time of 177 and 110 years, respectively. Although we did not model C flow to deep soil layers (approx. 0–100 cm), observed C accumulation (11.4 Mg C ha-1 year-1) and root growth down to 120 cm suggest that soil processes and resulting C sequestration at the surface are likely to persist deeper into the soil profile. Energycane, as a strong candidate for climate change mitigation and land degradation remediation, showed high biomass yields and allocation of resources to roots, with sequestered soil C expected to persist for over a century.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA); US Office of Naval Research (ONR); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG36-08GO88037
OSTI ID:
1850245
Journal Information:
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 12; ISSN 1757-1693
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
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tropical perennial grasses