34-16 Soil Organic Matter Fractions Associated with Undisturbed and Disturbed Ecosystems.



Monday, October 17, 2011
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Hall C, Street Level

John McKinney, Murray State Agronomy Club, Enfield, IL and Iin Handayani, Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, KY
High crop productivity requires the soil to have the ability to sequester carbon. This study provided the opportunity to conduct a unique evaluation of the importance of soil – vegetative cover. Soil organic matter fractions, organic carbon, particulate organic matter C and C associated with macro-aggregate, were determined within four different ecosystems from soil depths of 0 to 30 cm.  We will discuss implications and challenges to our understanding of the role of land management history on C sequestration. One important finding is that undisturbed ecosystems can sequester more C in the soils due to continuous supply of plant residues compared to disturbed ecosystems.  Therefore, protecting surface soil layers from excessive physical exposure is mandatory.
See more from this Division: Z00 Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences (SASES)
See more from this Session: National Student Research Symposium Poster Contest