Summary
This landscape-scale field assessment quantifies soil organic carbon accumulation under improved Urochloa humidicola pastures in tropical South America, comparing pasture age classes against conventionally burned savanna controls. Older pastures (>3 years) stored approximately 27 Mg C ha⁻¹ more carbon across the 0–100 cm profile than burned savanna, with disproportionate gains in deeper soil layers (39% increase at 30–100 cm depth), suggesting long-term carbon stability. The study demonstrates that improved tropical pasture management can substantially contribute to climate mitigation whilst supporting livestock production.
Regional applicability
Findings are directly applicable to tropical and subtropical pasture systems globally, but do not directly apply to United Kingdom conditions, which feature temperate grasslands with different soil mineralogy, climate, and hydrology. However, the methodological approach (depth-stratified SOC monitoring, ESM calculations) and the principle of improved pasture management for carbon sequestration may inform UK grassland research and sustainable intensification strategies.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and concentration (Mg C ha⁻¹) at four depths (0–10 cm, 10–30 cm, 30–50 cm, 50–100 cm); soil texture; bulk density; pasture age classes; equivalent soil mass (ESM) approach; 111 georeferenced field sites
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and concentrations across multiple soil depths (0–100 cm) in Urochloa humidicola pastures of varying ages compared to conventionally managed burned savanna. Results quantified SOC accumulation rates and identified how soil texture and hydrological conditions influenced carbon sequestration patterns.
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