Soil Carbon Sequestration Mediated by Herbaceous Species Diversity Along the Gradient of Nitrogen Amendment in a Dry Tropical Environment of India

R. Sagar

Abstract


Increased concentrations of CO2 and reactive nitrogen (N) in the atmosphere are recognised as serious threats to the lives on the planet ‘Earth’. The ecologists and environmental scientists are exploring the possible ways to combat this global problem. In this context, the impact of urea amendment as a measure of N deposition on the herbaceous species diversity and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock (a measure of CO2 sequestration), as well as relationship between species diversity and SOC stock were studied from 135, 1×1 m permanent plots distributed over 15 locations on the campus of Banaras Hindu University. These plots were continuously receiving urea amendment since January 2007.  In year 2011, herbaceous diversity and SOC stock were estimated and analysed statistically. The study showed that moderate (60 kg N ha-1yr-1) levels of N treatment supported high herbaceous diversity and SOC stock. The species diversity indices were positively and significantly related with SOC stock in control and 60 kg N treated plots, while such relationships were negative in 120 kg N treated plots. The study suggested that the herbaceous species diversity mediates the C accumulation in soil against the N deposition in dry tropical environment of India. Therefore, N and species diversity need to be managed for long-term C storage in the soils of dry tropical grasslands.

Keywords


C-Ssequestration; Dry Tropics; Herbaceous Vegetation; N-Amendment; SOC Stock; Species Diversity

References


Asner, G.P.; Seastedt, T.R. and Townsend, A.R. 1997. The decoupling of terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycles. Bioscience 47: 226-234.

Bobbink, R.; Hicks, K.; Galloway, J.; Spranger, T.; Alkemade, R.; Ashmore, M.; Bustamante, M.; Cinderby, S.; Davidson, E.; Dentener,F.; Emmett, B.; Erisman, J.W.; Fenn, M.; Gilliam, F.; Nordin, A.; Pardo, L. and De Vries. W. 2010. Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis. Ecological Applications 20: 30-59.

Chaturvedi, R.K.; Raghubanshi, A.S. and Singh, J.S. 2011. Carbon density and accumulation in woody species of tropical dry forest in India. Forest Ecology and Management 262: 1576-1588.

Chavan, B.L. and Rasal, G.B. 2011. Potentiality of carbon sequestration in six year ages young plant from University Campus of Aurangabad. Global Journal of Researches in Engineering- Chemical Engineering 11: 1-7.

Conant, R.T.; Paustian, K. and Elliott, E.T. 2001 Grassland management and conversion into grassland: effects on soil carbon. Ecological Applications 11: 343-355.

Dinakaran, J.; Mehta, N. and Krishnayya, N.S.R. 2011.Soil organic carbon dynamics in two functional types of ground cover (grasses and herbaceous) in the tropics. Current Science 101: 776-783.

Falkowski, P.; Schole, .R.J.; Boyle, E.; Canadell, J.; Canfield, D.; Elser, J.; Gruber, N.; Hibbard, K.; Högberg, P.; Linder, S.; Mackenzie, F.T.; Moore III, B.; Pedersen, T.; Rosenthal, Y.; Seitzinger, S.; Smetacek, V. and Steffen, W. 2000. The global carbon cycle: A test of our knowledge of Earth as a System. Science 290: 291-296.

Farage, Peter; Pretty, J. and Ball, A. 2003. Biophysical aspects of carbon sequestration in drylands. 25 pages. URL: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/images/resources/pdf_documents/cseqbiophysicalaspectsdrylands.pdf

Fornara, D.A. and Tilman, D. 2008. Plant functional composition influences rates of soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation. Journal of Ecology 96: 314-322.

Galloway, J.N.; Dentener, F.J.; Capone, D.G.; Boyer, E.W.; Howarth, R.W.; Seitzinger, S.P.; Asner, G.P.; Cleveland, C.C.; Green, P.A.; Holland, E.A.; Karl, D.M.; Michaels, A.F.; Porter, J.H.; Townsend, A.R. and Vöosmarty, C.J. 2004. Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry 70: 153-226.

Hogberg, P. 2007. Nitrogen impact on forest carbon. Nature 447: 781-782.

Huston, M.A. and Marland, G. 2003. Carbon management and biodiversity. Journal of Environmental Management 67: 77-86.

Isbell, F.; Calcagno, V.; Hector, A.; Connolly, J.; Harpole, W.S.; Reich, P.B.; Scherer-Lorenzen, M.; Schmid, B.; Tilman, D.; van Ruijven, J.; Weigelt, A.; Wilsey, B.J.; Zavaleta, E.S. and Loreau, M. 2011. High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services. Nature 477:199-202.

Jantz, P.; S. Goetz, S. and N. Laporte, N. 1014. Carbon stock corridors to mitigate climate change and promote biodiversity in the tropics. Nature Climate Change 4: 138-142.

Janzen, H.H. 2004. Carbon cycling in earth systems: a soil science perspective. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 104: 399-417.

Jensen, N.R.; Webster, C.R.; Witt, J.C. and Grant, J.B. 2011. Ungulate winter habitat selection as a driver of herbaceous-layer heterogeneity in northern temperate forests. Ecosphere 2: 1-16.

Jina, B.S.; Sah, P.; Bhatt, M.D. and Rawat, Y.S. 2008. Estimating Carbon sequestration rates and total carbon stockpile in degraded and non-degraded sites of Oak and Pine forest of Kumaun Central Himalaya. Ecoprint 15: 75-81.

Kale, M.P.; Rava, S.A.; Roy, P.S. and Singh, S.S. 2009. Patterns of carbon sequestration in forests of Western Ghats and study of applicability of remote sensing in generating carbon credits through aforestation/reforestation. Journal of Indian Society Remote Sensing 37: 457-471.

Kellomaki, S. 2000. Forests of the boreal region: Gaps in knowledge and research needs. Forest Ecology and Management 132: 63-71.

Kirby, K.R. and Potvin, C. 2007. Variation in carbon storage among tree species: Implications for the management of a small-scale carbon sink project. Forest Ecology and Management 246: 208-221.

Lal, R. 2008. Carbon sequestration. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London (B) 63: 815-830.

Lal, R. and Akinremi, O.O. 1983. Physical properties of earthworm cast and surface soil as influenced by management. Soil Science 135:114-122.

Magnani, F.; Mencuccini, M.; Borghetti, M.; Berbigier, P.; Berninger, F.; Delzon, S.; Grelle, A.; Hari, P.; Jarvis, P.G.; Kolari, P.; Kowalski, A.S.; Lankreijer, H.; Law, B.E.; Lindroth, A.; Loustau, D.; Manca, G.; Moncrieff, J.; Rayment, M.; Tedeschi, V.; Valentini, R. and Grace, J. 2007. The human footprint in the carbon cycle of temperate and boreal forests. Nature 447: 848-850.

Negi, J.D.S.; Manhas, R.K. and Chauhan, P.S. 2003. Carbon allocation in different components of some tree species of India: A new approach for carbon estimation. Current Science 85: 1528-1531.

Norby, R.J.; DeLucia, E.H.; Gielen, B.; Calfapietra, C.; Giardina, C.P.; King, J.S.; Ledford, J.; McCarthy, H.R.; Moore, D.J.P.; Ceulemans, R.; De Angelis, P.; Finzi,A.C.; Karnosky, D.F.; Kubiske, M.E.; Lukac, M.; Pregitzer, K.S.; Scarascia-Mugnozza, G.E.; Schlesinger, W.H. and Oren, R. 2005. Forest response to elevated CO2 is conserved across a broad range of productivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102: 18052-18056.

Reay, D.S.; Davidson, E.A.; Smith, P.; Melillo, J.M.; Dentener, F. and Crutzen, P.J. 2012. Global agriculture and nitrous oxide emissions. Nature Climate Change 2: 410-416.

Ricklefs, R.E. and Miller, G. 2000. Ecology. 4th edition. W.H. Freeman, New York. 896 pages.

Sagar, R. and Singh, J.S. 2005. Structure, diversity and regeneration of tropical dry deciduous forest of northern India. Biodiversity and Conservation. 14: 935-959.

Schlesinger, W.H. 1991. Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change. First edition. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, USA. 432 pages.

Schlesinger, W.H. and Andrews, J.A. 2000. Soil respiration and the global carbon cycle. Biogeochemistry 48: 7-20.

Shahu, P.K.; Sagar, R. and Singh, J.S. 2008. Tropical forest structure and diversity in relation to altitude and disturbance in a Biosphere Reserve in Central India. Applied Vegetation Science 11: 461-470.

Shannon, C.E. and Weaver, W. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Reprinted 1964. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL. 132 pages.

Sharma, K. P. and Upadhyaya, B.P. 2002. Phytosociology, primary production and nutrient retention in herbaceous vegetation of the forestry arboretum on the Aravalli hills at Jaipur. Tropical Ecology 43: 325-335.

Sheldon , A. L. 1969. Equitability indices : dependence on the species count. Ecology 50: 466-7.

Singh, J.S.; Singh, S.P. and Gupta, S.R. 2014. Ecology, Environ-mental Science and Conservation. S. Chand and Company, New Delhi. 929 pages.

Singh, S.K.; Pandey, C.B.; Siddhu, G.S.; Sarkar, D. and Sagar, R. 2011. Concentration and stock of carbon in the soils affected by land uses and climates in the western Himalaya, India. CATENA 87: 78-89.

Skiba, U.; Jone, S.; Dragosits, U.; Drewer, J.; Fowler, D.; Rees, R.M.; Pappa, V.A.; Cardenas, L.; Chadwick, D.; Yamulki, S. and Manning, A.J. 2012. UK emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B): Biolgical Sciences 367: 1175-1185.

SPSS. 1997. SPSS Base 7.5 Application Guide. SPSS. Chicago, IL.

Srivastava, P.; Kumar, A.; Behera, S.K.; Sharma, Y.K. and Singh, N. 2012. Soil carbon sequestration: an innovative strategy for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Biodiversity and Conservation 21: 1343-1358.

Sutton, M.A.; Howard, C.M.; Bleeker, A. and Datta, A. 2013. The global nutrient challenge: from science to public engagement. Environmental Development 6: 80-85.

Sutton, M.A.; Skiba, U.M.; van Grinsven, H.J.M.; Oenema, O.; Watson, C.J.; Williams, J.; Hellums, D.T.; Mass, R.; Gyldenkaerne, S.; Pathak, H. and Winiwarter, W. 2014. Green economy thinking and the control of nitrous oxide emissions Environmental Development 9: 76-85.

Tans, P. and Keeling, R. 2014. Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. NOAA/ESRL (www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/). Scripps Institution of Oceanography (scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/). Last assessed on 17 October 2014.

Tilman, D.; Reich, P.B. and Knops, J.M.H. 2006. Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment. Nature 441: 629-632.

Verma, P.; Verma, P. and Sagar, R. 2013. Variations in N mineralization and herbaceous species diversity due to sites, seasons, and N treatments in a seasonally dry tropical environment of India. Forest Ecology and Management 297: 15-26.

Verma, P.; Sagar, R.; Verma, H.; Verma, P. and Singh, D.K. 2014. Changes in species composition, diversity and biomass of herbaceous plant traits due to N amendment in a dry tropical environment of India. Journal of Plant Ecology. DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtu018.

Walkley, A. 1947. A critical examination of a rapid method for determining organic carbon in soils effect of variations in digestion conditions and of inorganic soil constituents. Soil Science 63: 251-264.

Wang, H.; Mo, J.; Xiankai, L.; Jinghua, X.U.E.; Jiong, L. and Yunting, F. 2009. Effect of elevated nitrogen deposition on soil microbial biomass carbon in major subtropical forest of southern China. Frontiers of Forestry in China 4: 21-27.

Watson, R.T.; Noble, I.R.; Bolin, B.; Ravindranmath, N.H.; Verardo, D.J. and Dokken, D.J. (Editors) 2000. Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry. IPCC Special Report. University Press, Cambridge, UK. 375 pages.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

COPYRIGHT of this Journal vests fully with the National Instional Institute of Ecology. Any commercial use of the content on this site in any form is legally prohibited.