Carbon stocks and fuxes in rangelands of the Río de la Plata Basin

Grasslands are one of the most modified biomes on Earth. Land use changes had a large impact on carbon [C] stocks of grasslands. Understanding the impact of land use-land cover changes on C stocks and fluxes is critical to evaluate the potential of rangeland ecosystem as C sinks. In this article we...

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Otros Autores: Paruelo, José María, Piñeiro, Gervasio, Baldi, Germán, Baeza, Santiago, Lezama, Felipe, Altesor, Alice, Oesterheld, Martín
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
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Acceso en línea:http://ri.agro.uba.ar/files/intranet/articulo/2010parueloOK.pdf
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Sumario:Grasslands are one of the most modified biomes on Earth. Land use changes had a large impact on carbon [C] stocks of grasslands. Understanding the impact of land use-land cover changes on C stocks and fluxes is critical to evaluate the potential of rangeland ecosystem as C sinks. In this article we analyze C stocks and fluxes across the environmental gradients of one of the most extensive temperate rangeland areas: the Río de la Plata Grasslands [RPG] in SouthAmerica. The analysis summarizes information provided by field studies, remote sensing estimates, and modeling exercises. Average estimates of aboveground net primary production [ANPP] ranged from240to 316 gC.m-² . yr-¹. Estimates of belowgroundNPP [BNPP]weremore variable thanANPP and ranged from264 to 568 g C.m-² .yr-¹. Total Carbon ranged from 5 004 to 15 008 g C.m-². Plant biomass contribution to Total Carbon averaged 3 per cent andvaried from9.5 per cent 27 per cent among sites. The largestplant Cstock corresponded tobelow ground biomass. Abovegroundgreen biomass represented less than 7 per cent of the plant C. Soil organic carbon [SOC] was concentrated in the slowandpassive compartments of the organic matter. Active soil pool represented only 6.7 per cent of the SOC. The understanding of C dynamics and stocks in the RPG grasslands is still partial and incomplete. Field estimates of ANPP and BNPP are scarce, and they are not based on a common measurement protocol. Remotely sensed techniques have the potential to generate a coherent and spatially explicit databaseonANPP. However,morework is needed toimprove estimates of the spatialandtemporal variabilityof radiation use efficiency. The absence of a flux tower network restricts the ability to track seasonal changes in C uptake and to understand fine-scale controls of C dynamics.
ISSN:1550-7424