Tradeoff between the Conservation of Soil C Stocks and Vegetation Productivity in Temperate Grasslands

Agronomy

Annette Morvan-Bertrand¹  Servane Lemauviel-Lavenant¹  Caroline Kohler¹  Jean-Bernard Cliquet¹  Katja Klumpp² 

[1] Institut de Biologie Fondamentale et Appliquée (IBFA), Normandie University, UNICAEN, INRAE, EVA, FED Normandie Végétale 4277, 14000 Caen, France;UCA, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Ecosystème Prairial, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France;

关键词: soil organic carbon;    annual net primary productivity;    community-weighted mean traits;    functional diversity;    leaf dry matter content;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agronomy10071024

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Grassland management affects ecosystem services such as the conservation of C stocks. The aim of this study was to analyze the relation between vegetation production and soil C stocks for a set of seven temperate grasslands of various productivity levels. We estimated vegetation production directly through measurements of aboveground biomass (>5 cm), stubble and root biomass, and indirectly via plant community functioning. Soil C stocks were measured for bulk soil (organic C, SOC) and hot-water-extractable C (HWC) of topsoil. Plant community functioning was characterized by community-weighted mean (_CWM) traits and functional diversity index. Results show a negative relation between biomass production and SOC_stock. The tradeoff between productivity and SOC_stock could be linked to plant community functioning and particularly Leaf Dry Matter content (LDMC_CWM) which appeared to be the most relevant descriptor of plant community functioning. High SOC_stock could be associated to low productivity, conservative strategy (high LDMC_CWM), low soil labile C content and grassland age. Our results show a strong direct effect of management and grassland age on plant community, which in turn affects plant tissue quality and subsequent organic matter mineralization. Old permanent grasslands appeared less productive but represent an occasion for C storage and thus global change mitigation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown