Eze, S, Palmer, SM orcid.org/0000-0001-7689-001X and Chapman, PJ orcid.org/0000-0003-0438-6855 (2018) Soil organic carbon stock in grasslands: Effects of inorganic fertilizers, liming and grazing in different climate settings. Journal of Environmental Management, 223. pp. 74-84. ISSN 0301-4797
Abstract
Grasslands store about 34% of the global terrestrial carbon (C) and are vital for the provision of various ecosystem services such as forage and climate regulation. About 89% of this grassland C is stored in the soil and is affected by management activities but the effects of these management activities on C storage under different climate settings are not known. In this study, we synthesized the effects of fertilizer (nitrogen and phosphorus) application, liming and grazing regime on the stock of SOC in global grasslands, under different site specific climatic settings using a meta-analysis of 341 datasets. We found an overall significant reduction (−8.5%) in the stock of SOC in global managed grasslands, mainly attributable to grazing (−15.0%), and only partially attenuated by fertilizer addition (+6.7%) and liming (+5.8%), indicating that management to improve biomass production does not contribute sufficient organic matter to replace that lost by direct removal by animals. Management activities had the greatest effect in the tropics (−22.4%) due primarily to heavy grazing, and the least effect in the temperate zone (−4.5%). The negative management effect reduced significantly with increasing mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation in the temperate zone, suggesting that temperate grassland soils are potential C sinks in the face of climate change. For a sustainable management of grasslands that will provide adequate forage for livestock and mitigate climate change through C sequestration, we recommend that future tropical grassland management policies should focus on reducing the intensity of grazing. Also, to verify our findings for temperate grasslands and to better inform land management policy, future research should focus on the impacts of the projected climate change on net greenhouse gas exchange and potential climate feedbacks.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2018, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Journal of Environmental Management. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy |
Keywords: | Grassland soils; Soil improvement; Land management; Climate change; Carbon sequestration; Nitrogen amendment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jun 2018 13:01 |
Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2020 14:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.013 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:131752 |