ORGANIC CARBON STOCKS IN A SILTY TEXTURED SOIL FOLLOWING REINTEGRATION OF A 20 YEARS OLD MISCANTHUS× GIGANTEUS SITE INTO A CROP ROTATION

Highlights

● 0.98 Mg·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹ C_org accumulation under miscanthus over 26 years.

● C_org accumulation under miscanthus continued even up to 26 years.

● Reintegration of a miscanthus site into a crop rotation induced decreasing C stocks at first after 6 years.

Abstract

Miscanthus × giganteus may play an important role in replacing fossil energy resources by bio-based alternatives. One further advantage of miscanthus production is the generally high soil organic carbon (C_org) enrichment in soils. Due to declining yields, miscanthus stocks are commonly reintegrated into crop rotation after approximately 20 years. Currently there is only few information, whether these high amounts of C_org can be conserved while intensifying soil tillage and crop management after reintegration. Therefore, we monitored C_org stocks in a control with more than 20 years of continuous miscanthus and in a treatment with reintegration of a 20-years old miscanthus stock into an organic crop rotation. Based on δ¹³C soil values, we calculated an annual C_org enrichment of 0.98 Mg·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹ C under miscanthus. More than 95% of the miscanthus-C was determined in the upper 0.25 m of soil. Continuing miscanthus cultivation did not affect yields during the first five extension years and C_org stocks increased further. Following reintegration, C_org stocks remained constant during five years, which was mainly attributed to the humification and/or stabilization of high amounts of destroyed roots and rhizomes. A significant decrease in C_org (−5.7 Mg·ha⁻¹ C) compared to the continuing miscanthus cultivation was at first measured six years after reintegration into crop rotation, underlining the need of long-term investigations. Our data also show, that miscanthus production cycles can be extended in our region, and that sowing of the alfalfa grass mixture after rhizome/root destruction was efficient in preserving C_org stocks for at least first five years after reintegration.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

biobased energy crops / C balance / humus accumulation

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Acknowledgements

The authors would especially like to thank Charlotte Haake (University of Hohenheim) for her highly competent support in C analysis.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Lisa Essich, Reiner Ruser, Jens Hartung, Anne Hanemann, Meike Gassner, Liam Oberdorfer, Jörn Breuer, Jürgen Recknagel, Helmut Nußbaumer, and Torsten Müller declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2023. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)