Impacts of Land Use Change on soil Carbon Storage in the Brazilian Cerrado.

In Brazil, the substitution of the native Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) vegetation by agricultural areas may be impacted soil carbon stocks. Most of these agricultural areas are grasslands, which are in some stage of degradation. It was aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of land use change in native Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) on soil C storage. Experimental areas consisted of five land-use systems on oxisols in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The systems were degraded Signalgrass pastures, well managed Signalgrass pastures, no-tillage crop rotation (corn/soybean), riparian vegetation and a native forest. Except the native forest, all other systems were established at least sixteen years. The results showed that the riparian vegetation and well managed pasture were important sinks for atmospheric C, with greater stocks of soil C to 100 cm depth. Large losses of soil carbon occurred in degraded pasture, especially in the 0-20 cm depth, where the carbon stocks of the soil were 62, 46, 35 and 22% lower than systems of riparian vegetation, well managed pasture, native forest and no-tillage, respectively. The results suggest that systems of land use can accumulate or lose C stored in the soil due to management. In addition, well-managed pastures may promote soil C storage in grassland ecosystems.

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Environmental Quality
See more from this Session: Long-Term Studies On Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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