Fine-scale spatial variability in organic carbon in a temperate mangrove forest: Implications for estimating carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems

Fire and grazing are commonplace in Australian tropical savannas and the effects of these management practices on soil organic carbon stocks (SOC) is not well understood. A long-term (20 years) experiment studying the effects of fire on a grazed semi-arid tropical savanna was used to increase this understanding. Treatments, including frequency of fire (every 2, 4 and 6 years), season of fire [early (June) vs late (October) dry season] and unburnt control plots, were imposed on Vertosol grassland and Calcarosol woodland sites, which were grazed. Additionally long-term enclosures [unburnt (except the Calcarosol in 2001) and ungrazed since 1973] on each soil type adjacent to each site were sampled, although not included in statistical analyses. SOC stocks were measured to a soil depth of 0.3 m using a wet oxidation method (to avoid interference by carbonates) and compared on an equivalent soil mass basis. Significant treatment differences in SOC stocks were tested for, while accounting for spatial background variation within each site. SOC stocks (0–0.3 m soil depth) ranged between 10.1 and 28.9 t ha–1 (Vertosol site) and 20.7 and 54.9 t ha–1 (Calcarosol site). There were no consistent effects of frequency or season of fire on SOC stocks, possibly reflecting the limited statistical power of the study and inherent spatial variability observed. Differences in the response to frequency and season of fire observed between these soils may have been due to differences in clay type, plant species composition and/or preferential grazing activity associated with fire management. There may also have been differences in C input between treatments and sites due to differences in the herbage mass and post-fire grazing activity on both sites and changed pasture composition, higher herbage fuel load, and a reduction in woody cover on the Vertosol site. This study demonstrated the importance of accounting for background spatial variability and treatment replication (in the absence of baseline values) when assessing SOC stocks in relation to management practices. Given the absence of baseline SOC values and the potentially long period required to obtain changes in SOC in rangelands, modelling of turnover of SOC in relation to background spatial variability would enable management scenarios to be considered in relation to landscape variation that may be unrelated to management. These considerations are important for reducing uncertainty in C-flux accounting and to provide accurate and cost-effective methods for land managers considering participation in the C economy.

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Estimation of total fine root production using continuous inflow methods in tropical mangrove forest on Pohnpei Island, Micronesia: Fine root necromass accumulation is a substantial contributor to blue carbon stocks

Ecological Research ◽

10.1111/1440-1703.12280 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kenji Ono ◽

Kiyoshi Fujimoto ◽

Yasumasa Hirata ◽

Ryuichi Tabuchi ◽

Shingo Taniguchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mangrove Forest ◽

Fine Root ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Blue Carbon ◽

Root Production ◽

Fine Root Production

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Assessing the spatial variability of soil organic carbon stocks in an alpine setting (Grindelwald, Swiss Alps)

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.04.038 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 232-234 ◽

pp. 270-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

U. Hoffmann ◽

T. Hoffmann ◽

G. Jurasinski ◽

S. Glatzel ◽

N.J. Kuhn

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Swiss Alps ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Stocks

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Environmental conditions to support blue carbon storage in mangrove forest: A case study in the mangrove forest, Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity ◽

10.13057/biodiv/d220636 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Cindy Clara Pricillia ◽

Herdis Herdiansyah ◽

Mufti Petala Patria

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Mangrove Forest ◽

Organic Nitrogen ◽

Blue Carbon ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Soil Organic Nitrogen ◽

Living Biomass

Abstract. Pricillia CC, Patria MP, Herdiansyah H. 2021. Environmental conditions to support blue carbon storage in mangrove forest: A case study in the mangrove forest, Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3304-3314. Mangrove ecosystems can provide ecosystem services to mitigate climate change by absorbing and storing carbon in their systems. The question arises of how to manage a mangrove forest to store more carbon. The Nusa Lembongan mangrove forest was examined to assess the optimal environmental settings for blue carbon storage in the mangrove ecosystem. Five stations were selected purposively. The parameters observed in each station were aboveground living biomass, mangrove stand density, clay percentage in soil, bulk density, water content, soil organic carbon (%C), and soil organic nitrogen (%N). Based on this study, the total carbon stock in mangrove forest Nusa Lembongan was 68.10 ± 20.92 Mg C ha-1 and equals to 249.95 ± 76.77 MgCO2 ha-1 with a significant contribution of soil carbon stock. This study indicates that the essential parameters that can promote carbon sequestration in mangrove forest Nusa Lembongan were aboveground living biomass, soil organic carbon content and soil organic nitrogen content. In addition, as soil organic carbon content also negatively correlates with bulk density, it also can be considered. These findings can contribute to blue carbon planning and management to improve the effectiveness of the blue carbon project.

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Spatial variability and change in soil organic carbon stocks in response to recovery following land abandonment and erosion in mountainous drylands

Soil Use and Management ◽

10.1111/sum.12017 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 65-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

S. De Baets ◽

J. Meersmans ◽

V. Vanacker ◽

T. A. Quine ◽

K. Van Oost

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Land Abandonment ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Stocks

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Spatial variability in organic carbon stocks on level sites: Relation to vertical penetration of the A horizon

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss08068 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 89 (4) ◽

pp. 455-459 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C Chan ◽

B D Kay ◽

E G Gregorich

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Soil Profile ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Sampling Strategies ◽

Repeated Sampling ◽

Soc Stocks

Understanding the source of spatial variability in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks will contribute to improved sampling strategies to detect changes in stocks. Most of the variability in SOC stocks in cores collected from small (2 × 3 m) level plots on seven soils with similar cropping histories was related to variation in A horizon depth. Increased variability in horizon depth within plots coincided with the development of zones where the A horizon penetrated to greater depths. Consequently, accurate estimates of SOC stocks cannot be made from shallow measurements at the soil surface (e.g., 10 cm) and minimizing the spatial variability in locations of repeated sampling is necessary when characterizing changes in SOC stocks.Key words: Carbon sequestration, soil organic carbon, spatial variability, soil profile, A horizon

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