An interyear comparison of CO2 flux and carbon budget at a commercial-scale land-use transition from semi-improved grassland to Miscanthus x giganteus

McCalmont, Jon P.; McNamara, Niall P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5143-5819; Donnison, Iain S.; Farrar, Kerrie; Clifton-Brown, John C.. 2017 An interyear comparison of CO2 flux and carbon budget at a commercial-scale land-use transition from semi-improved grassland to Miscanthus x giganteus [in special issue: Perennial biomass crops for a resource constrained world] Global Change Biology Bioenergy, 9 (1). 229-245. 10.1111/gcbb.12323

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Abstract/Summary

A 6‐ha field at Aberystwyth, UK, was converted in 2012 from semi‐improved grassland to Miscanthus x giganteus for biomass production; results from transition to the end of the first 3 years are presented here. An eddy covariance sensor mast was established from year one with a second mast added from year two, improving coverage and providing replicated measurements of CO2 exchange between the ecosystem and atmosphere. Using a simple mass balance approach, above‐ground and below‐ground biomass production are combined with partitioned CO2 fluxes to estimate short‐term carbon deltas across individual years. Years one and two both ended with the site as a net source of carbon following cultivation disturbances, cumulative NEE by the end of year two was 138.57 ± 16.91 g C m−2. The site became a cumulative net sink for carbon by the end of June in the third growing season and remained so for the rest of that year; NEE by the end of year three was −616.52 ± 39.39 g C m−2. Carbon gains were primarily found in biomass pools, and SOC losses were limited to years one (−1.43 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) and two (−3.75 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). Year three saw recoupment of soil carbon at 0.74 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 with a further estimate of 0.78 Mg C ha−1 incorporated through litter inputs over the 3 years, suggesting a net loss of SOC at 3.7 Mg ha−1 from a 0‐ to 30‐cm baseline of 78.61 ± 3.28 Mg ha−1, down 4.7%. Assuming this sequestration rate as a minimum would suggest replacement of cultivation losses of SOC by year 8 of a potential 15‐ to 20‐year crop. Potential coal replacement per hectare of harvest over the three‐year study would offset 6–8 Mg of carbon emission, more than double the SOC losses.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1111/gcbb.12323
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1757-1693
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	bioenergy, biomass, carbon budget, carbon flux, eddy covariance, land-use change, Miscanthus, net ecosystem exchange
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	22 Mar 2018 12:22 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/519662

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