Long-Term Monitoring of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Woody and Herbaceous Bioenergy Crop Production Systems on Marginal Lands in Southern Ontario, Canada

Amir Behzad Bazrgar, Aeryn Ng, Brent Coleman, Muhammad Waseem Ashiq, Andrew Gordon and Naresh Thevathasan
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Amir Behzad Bazrgar: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Aeryn Ng: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Brent Coleman: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Muhammad Waseem Ashiq: Southern Biodiversity & Monitoring Unit, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, ON K9J3C7 Canada
Andrew Gordon: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Naresh Thevathasan: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Enhancement of terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration on marginal lands in Canada using bioenergy crops has been proposed. However, factors influencing system-level C gain (SLCG) potentials of maturing bioenergy cropping systems, including belowground biomass C and soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation, are not well documented. This study, therefore, quantified the long-term C sequestration potentials at the system-level in nine-year-old (2009–2018) woody (poplar clone 2293–29 ( Populus spp.), hybrid willow clone SX-67 ( Salix miyabeana )), and herbaceous (miscanthus ( Miscanthus giganteus var. Nagara), switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum )) bioenergy crop production systems on marginal lands in Southern Ontario, Canada. Results showed that woody cropping systems had significantly higher aboveground biomass C stock of 10.02 compared to 7.65 Mg C ha −1 in herbaceous cropping systems, although their belowground biomass C was not significantly different. Woody crops and switchgrass were able to increase SOC significantly over the tested period. However, when long term soil organic carbon (∆SOC) gains were compared, woody and herbaceous biomass crops gained 11.0 and 9.8 Mg C ha −1 , respectively, which were not statistically different. Results also indicate a significantly higher total C pool [aboveground + belowground + soil organic carbon] in the willow (103 Mg ha −1 ) biomass system compared to other bioenergy crops. In the nine-year study period, woody crops had only 1.35 Mg C ha −1 more SLCG, suggesting that the influence of woody and herbaceous biomass crops on SLCG and ∆SOC sequestrations were similar. Further, among all tested biomass crops, willow had the highest annual SLCG of 1.66 Mg C ha −1 y −1 .

Keywords: root biomass; system-level C gain; orthogonal contrast; carbon stock; coil health; climate change mitigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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