Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta

Wetland ecosystems have a high carbon storage potential as a result of high primary productivity and low decomposition rates dictated by water saturation. In the herbaceous wetlands of the Paraná River Delta, drainage and afforestation with poplars represents one of the dominant land uses. We explor...

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Main Authors: Ceballos, Dario Sebastian, Frangi, Jorge L., Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3176
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2
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author Ceballos, Dario Sebastian
Frangi, Jorge L.
Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
author_browse Ceballos, Dario Sebastian
Frangi, Jorge L.
Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
author_facet Ceballos, Dario Sebastian
Frangi, Jorge L.
Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
author_sort Ceballos, Dario Sebastian
collection INTA Digital
description Wetland ecosystems have a high carbon storage potential as a result of high primary productivity and low decomposition rates dictated by water saturation. In the herbaceous wetlands of the Paraná River Delta, drainage and afforestation with poplars represents one of the dominant land uses. We explored the effects of these interventions on the volume and carbon storage of the young sedimentary soils of the region. At three sites we identified paired stands occupying similar landscape positions and soil types but subject to natural flooding and covered by natural herbaceous communities or drainage and flood control by dikes and covered by poplar plantations established 12, 17 and 19 years ago. Soil sampling at these sites revealed a reduction of the litter compartment (−86 %) and decreasing volume and porosity of its underlying mineral layer (0–10 cm in the wetland reduced to 0–4 cm in the plantation). Our comparisons of carbon storage accounted for these volumetric shifts by using accumulated mineral mass rather than depth as a reference, showing that tree plantations gained in the mineral soil (22 Mg C ha−1) almost as much as what they lost in the litter. These gains were particularly large at intermediate depths (4–43 cm in the plantations) were soil porosity remained unaffected and C was raised by 64 % explained by (1) the pulse of inputs from overlaying litter and organic layers subject to rapid decomposition and mobilization after drainage and (2) root colonization, since tree plantations had 75 % of their fine root biomass at these intermediate soil depths, whereas roots in the wetlands did not explore the mineral soil profile and were completely confined to the organic layer. A neutral C balance following wetland drainage and afforestation resulted from the opposing effects of aeration, favoring decomposition in the organic layer, root colonization and organic matter stabilization, favoring its accumulation in the mineral soil.
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spelling INTA31762025-11-25T10:41:31Z Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta Ceballos, Dario Sebastian Frangi, Jorge L. Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel Tierras Húmedas Suelo Carbono Compactación del Suelo Control de Inundaciones Secuestro de Carbono Wetlands Soil Carbon Soil Compaction Flood Control Carbon Sequestration Delta del Paraná Wetland ecosystems have a high carbon storage potential as a result of high primary productivity and low decomposition rates dictated by water saturation. In the herbaceous wetlands of the Paraná River Delta, drainage and afforestation with poplars represents one of the dominant land uses. We explored the effects of these interventions on the volume and carbon storage of the young sedimentary soils of the region. At three sites we identified paired stands occupying similar landscape positions and soil types but subject to natural flooding and covered by natural herbaceous communities or drainage and flood control by dikes and covered by poplar plantations established 12, 17 and 19 years ago. Soil sampling at these sites revealed a reduction of the litter compartment (−86 %) and decreasing volume and porosity of its underlying mineral layer (0–10 cm in the wetland reduced to 0–4 cm in the plantation). Our comparisons of carbon storage accounted for these volumetric shifts by using accumulated mineral mass rather than depth as a reference, showing that tree plantations gained in the mineral soil (22 Mg C ha−1) almost as much as what they lost in the litter. These gains were particularly large at intermediate depths (4–43 cm in the plantations) were soil porosity remained unaffected and C was raised by 64 % explained by (1) the pulse of inputs from overlaying litter and organic layers subject to rapid decomposition and mobilization after drainage and (2) root colonization, since tree plantations had 75 % of their fine root biomass at these intermediate soil depths, whereas roots in the wetlands did not explore the mineral soil profile and were completely confined to the organic layer. A neutral C balance following wetland drainage and afforestation resulted from the opposing effects of aeration, favoring decomposition in the organic layer, root colonization and organic matter stabilization, favoring its accumulation in the mineral soil. EEA Delta del Paraná Fil: Ceballos, Darío Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Delta; Argentina Fil: Frangi, Jorge L. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo-Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Laboratorio de Investigación de Sistemas Ecológicos y Ambientales; Argentina Fil: Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Luis; Argentina 2018-08-24T12:46:10Z 2018-08-24T12:46:10Z 2013-03 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3176 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2 0168-2563 1573-515X https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf Biogeochemistry 112 (1–3) : 359–372 (March 2013)
spellingShingle Tierras Húmedas
Suelo
Carbono
Compactación del Suelo
Control de Inundaciones
Secuestro de Carbono
Wetlands
Soil
Carbon
Soil Compaction
Flood Control
Carbon Sequestration
Delta del Paraná
Ceballos, Dario Sebastian
Frangi, Jorge L.
Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title_full Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title_fullStr Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title_full_unstemmed Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title_short Soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the Paraná River Delta
title_sort soil volume and carbon storage shifts in drained and afforested wetlands of the parana river delta
topic Tierras Húmedas
Suelo
Carbono
Compactación del Suelo
Control de Inundaciones
Secuestro de Carbono
Wetlands
Soil
Carbon
Soil Compaction
Flood Control
Carbon Sequestration
Delta del Paraná
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3176
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9731-2
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