Quantifying temporal changes in C storage is challenging due to the large quantity of C present in topsoils relative to the amount of plant C inputs and CO2 outputs. Traditional methods for quantifying soil C changes are limited due to: (1) their inability to detect small changes in C stocks given their insensitivity; and (2) the inherent spatial variability associated with soils. Alternative methods are required to quantify soil C changes in soil-plant systems. The 13C natural abundance method is based on the premise that during CO2 fixation, plants discriminate between C isotopes (13C and 12C), and thus contain a smaller proportion of 13C (?13C -26‰) compared to atmospheric CO2 (?13C -7‰). Furthermore, different plant species (C3 and C4) discriminate between C isotopes differently, which is reflected in the isotopic composition of SOM. This provides an ‘in-situ’ method by which to calculate the relative contribution of new C in soil-plant systems where the 13C signal of the C input is different to the native SOM. We used this method to quantify differences in below-ground C inputs in four different land use types: forest, grassland, apple orchard, and vineyard. The fraction of new C (fnew) inputs following one year of incubation of a C4 soil were calculated for both surface (0-15cm) and deeper (15-30cm) soil layers. Changes in ?13C in soil and roots, root biomass, %C, %N, were also analyzed. Results, presented in this paper, indicate differences within and between sites. The value of this relatively new method is discussed
Rodeghiero, M.; Martinez, C.; Camin, F.; Cotrufo, F.; Zanotelli, D.; Gianelle, D. (2012). Measuring plant below-ground carbon imputs using 13C natural abundance method : comparison between different use land types. In: 4th International congress Eurosoil 2012: soil science for the benefit of mankind and environment, Bari, 2-6 luglio 2012: 1729 (S07.05-P -11). url: http://www.scienzadelsuolo.org/_docs/Atti_Eurosoil_2012.pdf handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/22469
Citation: | Rodeghiero, M.; Martinez, C.; Camin, F.; Cotrufo, F.; Zanotelli, D.; Gianelle, D. (2012). Measuring plant below-ground carbon imputs using 13C natural abundance method : comparison between different use land types. In: 4th International congress Eurosoil 2012: soil science for the benefit of mankind and environment, Bari, 2-6 luglio 2012: 1729 (S07.05-P -11). url: http://www.scienzadelsuolo.org/_docs/Atti_Eurosoil_2012.pdf handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/22469 |
Internal authors: | |
Organization unit: | Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department # CRI_2011-JAN2016 Food Quality and Nutrition Department # CRI_2011-JAN2016 |
Authors: | Rodeghiero, M.; Martinez, C.; Camin, F.; Cotrufo, F.; Zanotelli, D.; Gianelle, D. |
Title: | Measuring plant below-ground carbon imputs using 13C natural abundance method : comparison between different use land types |
Issue Date: | 2012 |
Language: | English |
Nature of content: | Abstract in Atti di convegno/Conference abstract |
URL: | http://www.scienzadelsuolo.org/_docs/Atti_Eurosoil_2012.pdf |
Appears in Collections: | 03 - Conference object |
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