Soil carbon sequestration accelerated by restoration of grassland biodiversity.

ABSTRACT: Agriculturally degraded and abandoned lands can remove atmospheric CO₂ and sequester it as soil organic matter during natural succession. However, this process may be slow, requiring a century or longer to re-attain pre-agricultural soil carbon levels. Here, we find that restoration of late-successional grassland plant diversity leads to accelerating annual carbon storage rates that, by the second period (years 13-22), are 200% greater in our highest diversity treatment than during succession at this site, and 70% greater than in monocultures. The higher soil carbon storage rates of the second period (years 13-22) are associated with the greater aboveground production and root biomass of this period, and with the presence of multiple species, especially C4 grasses and legumes. O

SUBMITTER: Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6372642 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature