DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A new bioenergy model that simulates the impacts of plant‐microbial interactions, soil carbon protection, and mechanistic tillage on soil carbon cycling

Journal Article · · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12914 · OSTI ID:1839453
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Department of Biology West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA, Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana Illinois USA
  2. Department of Biology West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA
  3. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Lincoln New Zealand
  4. Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana Illinois USA, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences University of Idaho Moscow Idaho USA
  5. Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge Tennessee USA

Abstract Advancing our predictive understanding of bioenergy systems is critical to design decision tools that can inform which feedstock to plant, where to plant it, and how to manage its production to provide both energy and ecosystem carbon (C) benefits. Here, we lay the foundation for that advancement by integrating recent developments in the science of belowground processes in shaping the C cycle into a new bioenergy model, FUN‐BioCROP (Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen‐Bioenergy Carbon, Rhizosphere, Organisms, and Protection). We show that FUN‐BioCROP can approximate the historical trajectory of soil C dynamics as natural ecosystems were successively converted into intensive agriculture and bioenergy systems. This ability relies in part on a novel tillage representation that mechanistically models tillage as a process that increases microbial access to C. Importantly, the impacts of tillage and feedstock choice also influence FUN‐BioCROP simulations of warming responses with no‐till perennial feedstocks, miscanthus, and switchgrass, having more C that is unprotected and susceptible to warming than tilled annual feedstocks like corn–corn–soybean. However, this susceptibility to warming is balanced by a greater potential for increases in belowground C allocation to enhance soil C stocks in perennial systems. Collectively, our model results highlight the importance of belowground processes in evaluating the ecosystem C benefits of bioenergy production.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
NONE; SC0018420
OSTI ID:
1839453
Journal Information:
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 14; ISSN 1757-1693
Publisher:
Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

References (79)

Modeling the carbon cost of plant nitrogen acquisition: Mycorrhizal trade-offs and multipath resistance uptake improve predictions of retranslocation: Carbon cost of mycorrhizae journal August 2014
Evidence of a strong coupling between root exudation, C and N availability, and stimulated SOM decomposition caused by rhizosphere priming effects journal July 2012
Preferential uptake of soil nitrogen forms by grassland plant species journal November 2004
Nitrogen uptake and preference in a forest understory following invasion by an exotic grass journal May 2011
Comparative Biogeochemical Cycles of Bioenergy Crops Reveal Nitrogen-Fixation and Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions in a Miscanthus × giganteus Agro-Ecosystem journal December 2009
Root carbon inputs to the rhizosphere stimulate extracellular enzyme activity and increase nitrogen availability in temperate forest soils journal December 2012
The Millennial model: in search of measurable pools and transformations for modeling soil carbon in the new century journal December 2017
Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models journal July 2018
IJ_Rhizo: an open-source software to measure scanned images of root samples journal July 2013
Physical factors influencing decomposition of organic materials in soil aggregates journal January 1978
The implications of exoenzyme activity on microbial carbon and nitrogen limitation in soil: a theoretical model journal April 2003
Carbon exchange by establishing biofuel crops in Central Illinois journal November 2011
Decomposition of particulate organic matter is more sensitive to temperature than the mineral associated organic matter journal March 2014
Root-induced changes in nutrient cycling in forests depend on exudation rates journal November 2014
Little effects on soil organic matter chemistry of density fractions after seven years of forest soil warming journal December 2016
Root exudates increase N availability by stimulating microbial turnover of fast-cycling N pools journal March 2017
Plant identity control on soil food web structure and C transfers under perennial bioenergy plantations journal November 2019
Approaches to model the impact of tillage implements on soil physical and nutrient properties in different agro-ecosystem models journal August 2018
DAYCENT and its land surface submodel: description and testing journal December 1998
Carbon cost of plant nitrogen acquisition: A mechanistic, globally applicable model of plant nitrogen uptake, retranslocation, and fixation: CARBON COST OF PLANT N ACQUISITION journal March 2010
Diverse Mycorrhizal Associations Enhance Terrestrial C Storage in a Global Model journal April 2019
The Community Land Model Version 5: Description of New Features, Benchmarking, and Impact of Forcing Uncertainty journal December 2019
Modeling carbon biogeochemistry in agricultural soils journal September 1994
Microbe-driven turnover offsets mineral-mediated storage of soil carbon under elevated CO2 journal November 2014
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property journal October 2011
Microbe-driven turnover offsets mineral-mediated storage of soil carbon under elevated CO2 journal November 2014
Soil-carbon response to warming dependent on microbial physiology journal April 2010
NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis journal June 2012
Microbial formation of stable soil carbon is more efficient from belowground than aboveground input journal November 2018
Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter journal April 2021
Interactions between microbial diversity and substrate chemistry determine the fate of carbon in soil journal September 2021
Environmental and microbial controls on microbial necromass recycling, an important precursor for soil carbon stabilization journal October 2020
Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis: SOIL CARBON STOCKS and LAND USE CHANGE journal April 2002
Soil carbon debt of 12,000 years of human land use journal August 2017
Current developments in soil organic matter modeling and the expansion of model applications: a review journal December 2015
Feedbacks between plant N demand and rhizosphere priming depend on type of mycorrhizal association journal July 2017
The Microbial Efficiency-Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter? journal February 2013
Carbon cost of plant nitrogen acquisition: global carbon cycle impact from an improved plant nitrogen cycle in the Community Land Model journal January 2016
Interactions among plants, bacteria, and fungi reduce extracellular enzyme activities under long-term N fertilization journal February 2018
Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter journal August 2019
Conceptualizing soil organic matter into particulate and mineral‐associated forms to address global change in the 21st century journal November 2019
The future of bioenergy journal December 2019
Changes in soil organic carbon under perennial crops journal May 2020
Contribution of nitrogen fixation to first year Miscanthus  ×  giganteus journal July 2013
Bioenergy crop greenhouse gas mitigation potential under a range of management practices journal March 2014
Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol journal March 2016
Assessing the potential to decrease the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone with Midwest US perennial cellulosic feedstock production journal August 2016
Consensus, uncertainties and challenges for perennial bioenergy crops and land use journal November 2017
The impacts of four potential bioenergy crops on soil carbon dynamics as shown by biomarker analyses and DRIFT spectroscopy journal May 2018
Predicting soil carbon changes in switchgrass grown on marginal lands under climate change and adaptation strategies journal July 2020
21st‐century biogeochemical modeling: Challenges for Century‐based models and where do we go from here? journal August 2020
The carbon and nitrogen cycle impacts of reverting perennial bioenergy switchgrass to an annual maize crop rotation journal September 2020
Fate of particulate organic matter in soil aggregates during cultivation journal December 1996
Patterns of rhizosphere carbon flux in sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis) saplings journal June 2005
Root exudation (net efflux of amino acids) may increase rhizodeposition under elevated CO 2: ROOT EXUDATION AND RISING CO 2 journal March 2006
Temperature and soil organic matter decomposition rates - synthesis of current knowledge and a way forward journal August 2011
Soil organic matter turnover is governed by accessibility not recalcitrance journal March 2012
Fertilization effects on fineroot biomass, rhizosphere microbes and respiratory fluxes in hardwood forest soils journal September 2007
Changes in soil organic carbon under biofuel crops journal February 2009
Synthesis and modeling perspectives of rhizosphere priming journal August 2013
Ecosystem responses to elevated CO 2 governed by plant-soil interactions and the cost of nitrogen acquisition journal November 2017
Evidence for the primacy of living root inputs, not root or shoot litter, in forming soil organic carbon journal August 2018
The influence of drought and heat stress on long-term carbon fluxes of bioenergy crops grown in the Midwestern USA: Drought effect on carbon fluxes journal June 2016
Temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition governed by aggregate protection and microbial communities journal July 2019
Plant rhizodeposition: A key factor for soil organic matter formation in stable fractions journal April 2021
Soil Warming and Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks to the Climate System journal December 2002
Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error journal October 2009
Mycorrhizal association as a primary control of the CO 2 fertilization effect journal June 2016
Long-term pattern and magnitude of soil carbon feedback to the climate system in a warming world journal October 2017
Life-Cycle Assessment of net Greenhouse-Gas flux for Bioenergy Cropping Systems journal April 2007
Preferences for Different Nitrogen Forms by Coexisting Plant Species and soil Microbes journal April 2007
Impact of historical land-use changes on greenhouse gas exchange in the U.S. Great Plains, 1883–2003 journal June 2011
Impact of second‐generation biofuel agriculture on greenhouse‐gas emissions in the corn‐growing regions of the US
  • Davis, Sarah C.; Parton, William J.; Grosso, Stephen J. Del
  • Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 10, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1890/110003
journal July 2011
Biogeochemical consequences of regional land use change to a biofuel crop in the southeastern United States journal December 2015
Long-Term Changes in Mollisol Organic Carbon and Nitrogen journal January 2009
Reduced Nitrogen Losses after Conversion of Row Crop Agriculture to Perennial Biofuel Crops journal January 2013
Aggregate and Soil Organic Matter Dynamics under Conventional and No-Tillage Systems journal January 1999
Root Exudates Induce Soil Macroaggregation Facilitated by Fungi in Subsoil journal November 2018
Soil organic matter and plant carbon allocated to nitrogen acquisition simulated by the FUN-BioCROP model dataset January 2021