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Abstract

Human activities over the last century have greatly contributed to affect the structure and functioning of many terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. From a climate change perspective human-managed ecosystems often act as a net source (rather than a sink) of atmospheric CO2. Thus, we need to improve ecosystems� ability to sequester carbon (C) and reduce the C-footprint of many human-production systems including agriculture. Across terrestrial ecosystems soils represent the largest stores of C and have the potential to accumulate more C under suitable management practices. Grassland soils across Europe remain important food production systems whose long-term sustainability is threatened by increasing management intensification. Here, I present results from multiple long-term grassland experiments which show how soil C sequestration can increase with greater plant species diversity and/or under common agricultural practices. These findings suggest that there are different significant drivers of soil C sequestration and that their relative contribution varies along a gradient a grassland management intensity. For example, greater biodiversity facilitate soil C sequestration in semi-natural (e.g. low nutrient input) grasslands whereas the addition of organic nutrients to soils or agricultural liming contribute to higher soil C sequestration in intensively-used grasslands. I finally discuss why it is important to measure soil C sequestration rates across several years and what biogeochemical mechanisms might be responsible for changes in soil C sequestration through time.

Biography

Email: dario.fornara@afbini.gov.uk