Soil Respiration Dynamics in Bromus erectus -Dominated Grasslands under Different Management Intensities

Matteo Francioni, Laura Trozzo, Marco Toderi, Nora Baldoni, Marina Allegrezza, Giulio Tesei, Ayaka Wenhong Kishimoto-Mo, Lucia Foresi, Rodolfo Santilocchi and Paride D’Ottavio
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Matteo Francioni: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Laura Trozzo: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Marco Toderi: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Nora Baldoni: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Marina Allegrezza: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Giulio Tesei: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Ayaka Wenhong Kishimoto-Mo: National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba 305-8604, Japan
Lucia Foresi: East Malling Research, East Malling ME19 6BJ, UK
Rodolfo Santilocchi: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Paride D’Ottavio: Dipartimento di Science Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Reduction of soil greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to control increases in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Permanent grasslands are of considerable importance in climate change mitigation strategies as they cover about 13% of the global agricultural area. However, uncertainties remain for the effects of management practices on soil respiration, especially over the short term. This study investigated the influence of different mowing intensities on soil respiration over the short term for Bromus erectus -dominated grasslands in the central Apennines. From 2016 to 2018, soil respiration, temperature, and moisture were measured under three different management systems: customary management, intensive use, and abandonment. Both soil water content and temperature changed over time, however mowing did not affect soil water content while occasionally altered soil temperature. The intensive use promoted higher seasonal mean soil respiration compared to the abandonment only during the 2016 growing season. Soil temperature was the main driver of soil respiration above a soil water content threshold that varied little among treatments (18.23–22.71%). Below the thresholds, soil moisture was the main driver of soil respiration. These data suggest that different mowing regimes have little influence on soil respiration over the short term in Bromus erectus -dominated grasslands. Thus, more intensive use would not have significative impacts on soil respiration, at least over the short term. Future studies need to clarify the role of root mycorrhizal and microbial respiration in the light of climate change, considering the seasonal redistribution of the rainfall.

Keywords: carbon cycle; CO 2; greenhouse gases; mowing; Natura 2000; permanent grassland; semi-natural dry grasslands (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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