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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #106246
Title: CARBON STORED IN SOILS UNDER EASTERN GRASSLANDS

Author
item Owens, Lloyd
item Hothem, Daniel

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/16/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To evaluate the potential for agricultural practices to mitigate CO**2 emissions through C storage, many cropping practices need to be studied, including grasslands. At the NAEW near Coshocton, OH different grazing/grassland management practices have been studied for over 20 years. With archived soil samples from these areas, total carbon (TC) concentrations and amounts are being assessed. Management systems evaluated include: A.) continuous (non-rotational) grazing on unimproved pasture (28 ha); B.) four orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.)/Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) paddocks (17 ha) for summer rotational grazing with 56 kg N/ha annually supplied for 5 years followed with 11 years of annual applications of 162 kg N/ha; C.) four orchardgrass paddocks (14 ha) for rotational summer grazing and 224 kg N/ha was annually applied for 5 years, followed by 10 years where the N source was from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) that had been interseeded into the orchardgrass; and D.) four tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) paddocks (10 ha) for winter grazing and feeding of the hay made during the summer; this area had the same N management as system C. TC contents were greatest for the summer grazed, fertilized pastures, ranging from 1.56 and 2.02% in 1975 to 2.22 and 2.37% in 1998 in the 0-15 cm layers for systems B and C, respectively. Systems A and D had similar TC concentrations, ranging from 1.30 and 1.37% to 1.88 and 1.81%, respectively. Amounts of TC in the 0-15 cm layer showed a similar pattern, with 1998 values of 34.8 and 36.0 Mg/ha for systems B and C, respectively and 30.2 Mg/ha for both systems A and D. For comparison, a 12-year no-till corn/soybean rotation had 24.8 Mg/ha of TC. Soils under grasslands may store more C than soils with no-till crops.