Understand how plants influence soil pore characteristics and their relationships to soil C gains across contrasting topography
EMSL Project ID
50561
Abstract
An extra benefit of bioenergy crops is enhanced soil carbon (C) sequestration, which not only reduces atmospheric CO2, but also improves soil fertility, quality, and health. However, the mechanisms driving C gains produced by different bioenergy crops, in particularly switchgrass, remain poorly understand. The objectives of this project are: 1) to compare effects of two bioenergy systems, switchgrass and native prairie, on micro-scale heterogeneity; specifically, abundance, shape, distribution, and connectivity of soil pores; and 2) to assess contribution of these systems to micro-scale heterogeneity and C accrual on marginal lands with diverse topography. We will study the two bioenergy systems at Scale-up fields of KBS GLBRC experiment at Marshall farm location. The systems have been established in 2008 onmarginal land fields with topographically diverse terrain. We will focus on sampling two most contrasting topographical positions: eroded slopes (backslopes, shoulders) and low depressions (footslopes, toeslopes). From each topographical position in each system we will collect three intact soil cores. The sampling depth will be ~5-10 cm. The soil cores will be 5 cm in diameter and 4 cm in height. These 12 cores (2 systems x 2 topographical positions x 3 replications) will be scanned at EMSL at 25-30 ?m resolutions followed by analyses of pore-size distributions and root and particulate organic matter quantification from the images. In addition, from the direct vicinity of each intact soil core we will take additional soil samples for analyses of soil texture, soil C and N, extracellular enzyme activities, soil microbial biomass, etc. These measurements will be used to subsequently explore associations between soil pore characteristics as determined from the soil cores and soil biogeochemical characteristics associated with C sequestration. Since this is a proof-of-concept effort, which will provide information on whether the proposed sampling approach and scanning resolution are adequate for testing the proposed hypotheses, we are requesting a Rapid Access. The results of this effort will be then used to plan subsequent large scale soil sampling and analyses campaign that will study multiple cropping systems and a wide range of topographical conditions.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2018-09-13
End Date
2018-11-13
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator