Land-Use Type Influences On Microbial Enzyme Activity In Canadian Agro-Ecosystems.

Agroforestry ecosystems such as shelterbelts, hedgerows, and pastures are potentially important sinks for carbon (C) storage and for greenhouse gas mitigation in agricultural areas.  These ecosystems also provide valuable services that benefit the surrounding agricultural landscape by providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators, microclimate regulation, and erosion control.  Evidence suggests that compared with traditional cropping systems, forest cover on agricultural lands can increase soil C stability and storage, but C cycling in these agroforestry systems in Western Canada is not well characterized.  We assessed the influence of land-use type on soil C cycling across a climatic gradient spanning different soil types in central Alberta; this includes 6 hedgerows, 6 shelterbelts, all with adjacent cropland, and 6 aspen woodlands within pastures. We present data on the activity of several enzymes important in microbial processing of soil C including: cellobiosidase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, and xylosidase.  These data, in conjunction with information on greenhouse gas emissions, and C stability, will help to characterize land-use influences on soil C cycling, and develop models of response to climate change among these different land-use types.