Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies

Experimental plots were established on severely eroded land surfaces in Iceland in 1999 to study the rates and limits of soil carbon sequestration during restoration and succession. The carbon content in the upper 10 cm of soils increased substantially during the initial eight years in all plots for...

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Main Authors: Lawrence H. Tanner, Morgan Nivison, Olafur Arnalds, Kristin Svavarsdóttir
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Applied and Environmental Soil Science
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/205846
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author Lawrence H. Tanner
Morgan Nivison
Olafur Arnalds
Kristin Svavarsdóttir
author_facet Lawrence H. Tanner
Morgan Nivison
Olafur Arnalds
Kristin Svavarsdóttir
author_sort Lawrence H. Tanner
collection DOAJ
description Experimental plots were established on severely eroded land surfaces in Iceland in 1999 to study the rates and limits of soil carbon sequestration during restoration and succession. The carbon content in the upper 10 cm of soils increased substantially during the initial eight years in all plots for which the treatments included both fertilizer and seeding with grasses, concomitant with the increase in vegetative cover. In the following five years, however, the soil carbon accumulation rates declined to negligible for most treatments and the carbon content in soils mainly remained relatively constant. We suggest that burial of vegetated surfaces by aeolian drift and nutrient limitation inhibited productivity and carbon sequestration in most plots. Only plots seeded with lupine demonstrated continued long-term soil carbon accumulation and soil CO2 flux rates significantly higher than background levels. This demonstrates that lupine was the sole treatment that resulted in vegetation capable of sustained growth independent of nutrient availability and resistant to disruption by aeolian processes.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2015-01-01
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series Applied and Environmental Soil Science
spelling doaj-art-9f28577b3c6d43d09b3dfbdf223cfafc2025-08-20T03:38:30ZengWileyApplied and Environmental Soil Science1687-76671687-76752015-01-01201510.1155/2015/205846205846Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment StrategiesLawrence H. Tanner0Morgan Nivison1Olafur Arnalds2Kristin Svavarsdóttir3Department of Biological Sciences, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY 13214, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY 13214, USAAgricultural University of Iceland, Hvanneyri, 311 Borgarnes, IcelandSoil Conservation Service of Iceland, 112 Reykjavik, IcelandExperimental plots were established on severely eroded land surfaces in Iceland in 1999 to study the rates and limits of soil carbon sequestration during restoration and succession. The carbon content in the upper 10 cm of soils increased substantially during the initial eight years in all plots for which the treatments included both fertilizer and seeding with grasses, concomitant with the increase in vegetative cover. In the following five years, however, the soil carbon accumulation rates declined to negligible for most treatments and the carbon content in soils mainly remained relatively constant. We suggest that burial of vegetated surfaces by aeolian drift and nutrient limitation inhibited productivity and carbon sequestration in most plots. Only plots seeded with lupine demonstrated continued long-term soil carbon accumulation and soil CO2 flux rates significantly higher than background levels. This demonstrates that lupine was the sole treatment that resulted in vegetation capable of sustained growth independent of nutrient availability and resistant to disruption by aeolian processes.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/205846
spellingShingle Lawrence H. Tanner
Morgan Nivison
Olafur Arnalds
Kristin Svavarsdóttir
Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
Applied and Environmental Soil Science
title Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
title_full Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
title_fullStr Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
title_full_unstemmed Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
title_short Soil Carbon Accumulation and CO2 Flux in Experimental Restoration Plots, Southern Iceland: Comparing Soil Treatment Strategies
title_sort soil carbon accumulation and co2 flux in experimental restoration plots southern iceland comparing soil treatment strategies
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/205846
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AT olafurarnalds soilcarbonaccumulationandco2fluxinexperimentalrestorationplotssouthernicelandcomparingsoiltreatmentstrategies
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