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Grass vs. tree origin of soil organic carbon under different land-use systems in the Brazilian Cerrado

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Abstract

Background and Aims

Silvopastoral management of tree plantations is becoming popular in Brazil. The impact of this practice on carbon dynamics of these soils is unknown, and predicting it is difficult because historical land-use records of the region do not exist. The objective of the study was to quantify the relative soil organic carbon (SOC) contributions of C3 and C4 plants in different land-use system.

Methods

We evaluated total δ13C, the contribution of C4 and C3-derived soil organic C in three fraction-size classes of soils in six land-use systems (Eucalyptus hybrid plantations established in 1985 and 2005; a native forest; silvopasture stands of Brachiaria brizantha under eucalyptus established in 1994 and 2004; and an open pasture), and undertook carbon dating (14C) for three of those systems, an Oxisol in Minas Gerais, Brazil. From each system, soil samples were collected from four depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–50, and 50–100 cm); samples were fractionated into 250–2000, 53–250, and <53 μm size classes, and their δ13C determined. Carbon dating (14C analysis) was done for whole soil samples from 0 to 10 cm and 50–100 cm depth classes of three land-use systems.

Results

The δ13C values increased (showing increase in C contribution by C4 plants, i.e., grasses) with soil depth at all sites and all size-classes. The older systems showed a higher contribution of C4-derived SOC at all depths. Carbon dating indicated that the area had been cleared about 300 years ago.

Conclusions

Silvopastoral and pasture systems can be considered as good carbon sinks. We infer that the study site was grassland with high proportion of C4 plants in the past, not a forest as it is today.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a grant from FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesqueisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Brazil), and CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil). We are grateful to Jim Sickman for help with 14C isotopic analysis conducted at the Kerk Carbon Cycle AMS Faculty, Earth System Science Department, UC Irvine, USA. We thank all the individuals who participated in this research project especially Gabriel Rocha, Fernando Bernardino and Júlio Neves, at Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil, for soil sampling and statistical analysis and Kathy Curtis, at University of Florida, for δ13 C analysis. We also thank to Votorantim Siderurgia, Brazil, who let us use their farm as an experimental field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos, Sobral, Ceará, Brazil

    Rafael G. Tonucci

  2. Soil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Vimala D. Nair

  3. School of Forest and Resources Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    P. K. Ramachandran Nair

  4. Animal Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Rasmo Garcia

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  1. Rafael G. Tonucci
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  2. Vimala D. Nair
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  3. P. K. Ramachandran Nair
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Correspondence to Rafael G. Tonucci.

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Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

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Tonucci, R.G., Nair, V.D., Ramachandran Nair, P.K. et al. Grass vs. tree origin of soil organic carbon under different land-use systems in the Brazilian Cerrado. Plant Soil 419, 281–292 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3347-1

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