Ecological processes regulating soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles are still poorly understood, especially in the world's largest agricultural frontier in Southern Amazonia. We analyzed soil ...parameters in samples from pristine rainforest and after land use change to pasture and crop fields, and correlated them with abundance of functional and phylogenetic marker genes (amoA, nirK, nirS, norB, nosZ, nifH, mcrA, pmoA, and 16S/18S rRNA). Additionally, we integrated these parameters using path analysis and multiple regressions. Following forest removal, concentrations of soil C and N declined, and pH and nutrient levels increased, which influenced microbial abundances and biogeochemical processes. A seasonal trend was observed, suggesting that abundances of microbial groups were restored to near native levels after the dry winter fallow. Integration of the marker gene abundances with soil parameters using path analysis and multiple regressions provided good predictions of biogeochemical processes, such as the fluxes of NO3, N2O, CO2, and CH4. In the wet season, agricultural soil showed the highest abundance of nitrifiers (amoA) and Archaea, however, forest soils showed the highest abundances of denitrifiers (nirK, nosZ) and high N, which correlated with increased N2O emissions. Methanogens (mcrA) and methanotrophs (pmoA) were more abundant in forest soil, but methane flux was highest in pasture sites, which was related to soil compaction. Rather than analyzing direct correlations, the data integration using multivariate tools provided a better overview of biogeochemical processes. Overall, in the wet season, land use change from forest to agriculture reduced the abundance of different functional microbial groups related to the soil C and N cycles; integrating the gene abundance data and soil parameters provided a comprehensive overview of these interactions. Path analysis and multiple regressions addressed the need for more comprehensive approaches to improve our mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical cycles.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a vital role in ecosystem function, determining soil fertility, water holding capacity and susceptibility to land degradation. In addition, SOC is related to ...atmospheric CO
2 levels with soils having the potential for C release or sequestration, depending on land use, land management and climate. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, and other United Nations Conventions to Combat Desertification and on Biodiversity all recognize the importance of SOC and point to the need for quantification of SOC stocks and changes. An understanding of SOC stocks and changes at the national and regional scale is necessary to further our understanding of the global C cycle, to assess the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and to aid policy makers in making land use/management decisions. Several studies have considered SOC stocks at the plot scale, but these are site specific and of limited value in making inferences about larger areas. Some studies have used empirical methods to estimate SOC stocks and changes at the regional scale, but such studies are limited in their ability to project future changes, and most have been carried out using temperate data sets. The computational method outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been used to estimate SOC stock changes at the regional scale in several studies, including a recent study considering five contrasting eco regions. This ‘one step’ approach fails to account for the dynamic manner in which SOC changes are likely to occur following changes in land use and land management.
A dynamic modelling approach allows estimates to be made in a manner that accounts for the underlying processes leading to SOC change. Ecosystem models, designed for site scale applications can be linked to spatial databases, giving spatially explicit results that allow geographic areas of change in SOC stocks to be identified. Some studies have used variations on this approach to estimate SOC stock changes at the sub-national and national scale for areas of the USA and Europe and at the watershed scale for areas of Mexico and Cuba. However, a need remained for a national and regional scale, spatially explicit system that is generically applicable and can be applied to as wide a range of soil types, climates and land uses as possible. The Global Environment Facility Soil Organic Carbon (GEFSOC) Modelling System was developed in response to this need. The GEFSOC system allows estimates of SOC stocks and changes to be made for diverse conditions, providing essential information for countries wishing to take part in an emerging C market, and bringing us closer to an understanding of the future role of soils in the global C cycle.
Changes in land use can result in either sources or sinks of atmospheric carbon (C), depending on management practices. In Brazil, significant changes in land use result from the conversion of native ...vegetation to pasture and agriculture, conversion of pasture to agriculture and, more recently, the conversion of pasture and agriculture to integrated crop-livestock systems (ICL). The ICL system proposes a diversity of activities that include the strategic incorporation of pastures to agriculture so as to benefit both. In agricultural areas, for example, the implementation of ICL requires the production of quality forage for animals between crops as well as the production of straw to facilitate the sustainability of the no-tillage (NT) management system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the modifications in soil C stocks resulting from the main processes involved in the changes of land use in Amazonia and Cerrado biomes. For comparison purposes, areas under native vegetation, pastures, crop succession and ICL under different edapho-climatic conditions in Amazonia and Cerrado biomes were evaluated. This study demonstrated that the conversion of native vegetation to pasture can cause the soil to function either as a source or a sink of atmospheric CO
2, depending on the land management applied. Non-degraded pasture under fertile soil showed a mean accumulation rate of 0.46
g
ha
−1
year
−1. Carbon losses from pastures implemented in naturally low fertile soil ranged from 0.15 to 1.53
Mg
ha
−1
year
−1, respectively, for non-degraded and degraded pasture. The conversion of native vegetation to agriculture in areas under the ICL system, even when cultivated under NT, resulted in C losses of 1.31 in six years and of 0.69
Mg
ha
−1 in 21 years. The conversion of a non-degraded pasture to cropland (soybean/sorghum) released, in average, 1.44 Mg of C ha
−1year
−1to the atmosphere.
The ICL system in agricultural areas has shown evidences that it always functions as a sink of C with accumulation rates ranging from 0.82 to 2.58
Mg
ha
−1
year
−1. The ICL produces soil C accumulation and, as a consequence, reduces atmospheric CO
2 in areas formerly cultivated under crop succession. However, the magnitude of C accumulation in soil depends on factors such as the types of crops, the edapho-climatic conditions and the amount of time the area is under ICL.
As oil palm has been considered one of the most favorable oilseeds for biodiesel production in Brazil, it is important to understand how cultivation of this perennial crop will affect the dynamics of ...soil organic carbon (SOC) in the long term. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in soil C stocks after the conversion of forest and pasture into oil palm production in the Amazon Region. Soil samples were collected in March 2008 and September 2009 in five areas: native forest (NARF), pasture cultivated for 55 years (PAST), and oil palm cultivated for 4 (OP‐4), 8 (OP‐8) and 25 years (OP‐25), respectively. Soils were sampled in March 2008 to evaluate the spatial variability of SOC and nitrogen (N) contents in relation to the spacing between trees. In September 2009, soils were sampled to evaluate the soil C stocks in the avenues (inter rows) and frond piles, and to compare the total C stocks with natural forest and pasture system. Soil C contents were 22–38% higher in the area nearest the oil palm base (0.6 m) than the average across the inter row (0–4.5 m from the tree), indicating that the increment in soil organic matter (SOM) must have been largely derived from root material. The soil C stocks under palm frond piles were 9–26% higher than in the inter rows, due to inputs of SOM by pruned palm fronds. The soil carbon stocks in oil palm areas, after adjustments for differences in bulk density and clay content across treatments, were 35–46% lower than pasture soil C stocks, but were 0–18% higher than the native forest soil C content. The results found here may be used to improve the life cycle assessment of biodiesel derived from palm oil.
Our main objective in the present study was to assess the spatial variation of chemical and physical soil properties and then use this information to select an appropriate area to install a pasture ...rehabilitation experiment in the Amazon region, Brazil. A regular 25 m grid was used for collecting a total of 2955 soil samples (from 985 georeferenced soil pits) at 0 to10, 10 to 20 and 20 to 30 cm layers. Soil samples were analyzed for total carbon and nitrogen,
δ
13C and
δ
15N, pH in H
2O, pH in KCl, clay, and sand contents. Conventional statistical methods and geostatistics were performed in order to analyze soil properties spatial dependence. Mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis for all measured variables were evaluated. All variograms generally were well structured with a relatively large nugget effect. Total C, total N, pH in H
2O, pH in KCl,
δ
13C and
δ
15N semivariograms were best fitted by spherical models, while clay and sand contents were best fitted by exponential models. Two types of validation (“Jackknife” or cross-validation and external validation) were conducted, indicating a lack of bias for the used prediction models. Block kriging was used to interpolate the values at unmeasured locations, generating maps of spatial variation for each soil property. Those maps were processed using Geographic Information System and restrictive criteria were adopted in order to select the best area in which to install the pasture rehabilitation experiment. The study field was then divided into zones with similar homogeneity. The selected zone can now be subjected to different treatments once the natural initial conditions are well known, and could also be used as a baseline in carbon sequestration projects within the scope of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.
Land use and land cover changes in the Brazilian Amazon region have major implications for regional and even global carbon cycling. We analyzed the effects of the predominant land use change, ...conversion of tropical forest to pasture, on total soil C and N, using the Century ecosystem model and data collected from the Nova Vida ranch, Western Brazilian Amazon. We estimated equilibrium organic matter levels, plant productivity and residue carbon inputs under native forest conditions, then simulated deforestation following the slash and burn procedure. Soil organic matter dynamics were simulated for pastures established in 1989, 1987, 1983, 1979, 1972, 1951, and 1911. Using input data from the Nova Vida ranch, the Century model predicted that forest clearance and conversion to pasture would cause an initial decline in soil C and N stocks, followed by a slow rise to levels exceeding those under native forest. Simulated soil total C and N levels (2500 g C m−2 and 245 g N m−2 in the 0–20 cm layer) prior to conversion to pasture were close to those measured in the native forest. Simulated above‐ and below‐ground biomass for the forest and pasture were comparable with literature values from this region. The model predicted the long‐term changes in soil C and N under pasture inferred from the pasture chronosequence, but there was considerable variation in soil C stocks for pastures <20 years in age. Differences in soil texture between pastures were relatively small and could not account for much of the variability between different pastures of similar ages, in either the measured or simulated data. It is likely that much of the variability in C stocks between pastures of similar ages is related to initial C stocks immediately following deforestation and that this was the largest source of variability in the chronosequence. Internal C cycling processes in Century were evaluated using measurements of microbial biomass and soil δ13C. The relative magnitude and long‐term trend in microbial biomass simulated by the model were consistent with measurements. The close fit of simulated to measured values of δ13C over time suggests that the relative loss of forest‐derived C and its replacement by pasture‐derived C was accurately predicted by the model. After 80 years, almost 90% of the organic matter in the top 20 cm was pasture derived. While our analysis represents a single ‘case study’ of pasture conversion, our results suggest that modeling studies in these pasture systems can help to evaluate the magnitude of impacts on C and N cycling, and determine the effect of management strategies on pasture sustainability.
TheBrazilian Amazon is one of themost rapidly developing agricultural areas in the world and represents a potentially large future source of greenhouse gases from land clearing and subsequent ...agricultural management. In an integrated approach, we estimate the greenhouse gas dynamics of natural ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems after clearing in the context of a future climate. We examine scenarios of deforestation and postclearing land use to estimate the future (2006–2050) impacts on carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from the agricultural frontier state of Mato Grosso, using a process-based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystems Model (TEM). We estimate a net emission of greenhouse gases from Mato Grosso, ranging from 2.8 to 15.9 Pg CO₂-equivalents (CO₂-e) from 2006 to 2050. Deforestation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions over this period, but land uses following clearing account for a substantial portion (24–49%) of the net greenhouse gas budget. Due to land-cover and land-use change, there is a small foregone carbon sequestration of 0.2–0.4 Pg CO₂-e by natural forests and cerrado between 2006 and 2050. Both deforestation and future land-use management play important roles in the net greenhouse gas emissions of this frontier, suggesting that both should be considered in emissions policies. We find that avoided deforestation remains the best strategy for minimizing future greenhouse gas emissions from Mato Grosso.
Urine deposition to the soil can result in nitrous oxide emissions through the microbial processes of nitrification and denitrification. The objective of this experiment was to estimate N2O emissions ...from urine depositions to grassland during summer in Southeast Brazil. A field experiment was conducted in which N2O emissions were measured from known volumes of urine applied to the soil, using the static chamber method. Measurements continued for one month after application. Application of urine to soil increased N2O fluxes compared to those from the control site. There were two significant N2O emission peaks for the urine treatment at around the 3rd and 13th days after application, the first in response to the urine application and the second most likely in response to a rainfall event. The N2O emissions accounted for 0.2% of the applied urine N. These represent the first data relating to emissions from urine depositions by grazing cattle in Brazil. Further measurements across a range of soil and weather conditions in Brazil are required to develop national and regional specific emission factors for inventory development.
Tropical ecosystems play a large and complex role in the global carbon cycle. Clearing of natural ecosystems for agriculture leads to large pulses of CO
2
to the atmosphere from terrestrial biomass. ...Concurrently, the remaining intact ecosystems, especially tropical forests, may be sequestering a large amount of carbon from the atmosphere in response to global environmental changes including climate changes and an increase in atmospheric CO
2
. Here we use an approach that integrates census-based historical land use reconstructions, remote-sensing-based contemporary land use change analyses, and simulation modeling of terrestrial biogeochemistry to estimate the net carbon balance over the period 1901-–2006 for the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, which is one of the most rapidly changing agricultural frontiers in the world. By the end of this period, we estimate that of the state's 925 225 km
2
, 221 092 km
2
have been converted to pastures and 89 533 km
2
have been converted to croplands, with forest-to-pasture conversions being the dominant land use trajectory but with recent transitions to croplands increasing rapidly in the last decade. These conversions have led to a cumulative release of 4.8 Pg C to the atmosphere, with ∼∼80%% from forest clearing and 20%% from the clearing of cerrado. Over the same period, we estimate that the residual undisturbed ecosystems accumulated 0.3 Pg C in response to CO
2
fertilization. Therefore, the net emissions of carbon from Mato Grosso over this period were 4.5 Pg C. Net carbon emissions from Mato Grosso since 2000 averaged 146 Tg C/yr, on the order of Brazil's fossil fuel emissions during this period. These emissions were associated with the expansion of croplands to grow soybeans. While alternative management regimes in croplands, including tillage, fertilization, and cropping patterns promote carbon storage in ecosystems, they remain a small portion of the net carbon balance for the region. This detailed accounting of a region's carbon balance is the type of foundation analysis needed by the new United Nations Collaborative Programmme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).
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