• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.150-158
• /
• 2019

Exotic conifer trees have been extensively planted in southern China because of their high apparent growth and yield. These fast-growing plantations are expected to persist as a considerable potential for temporary and long-term carbon sink to offset greenhouse gas emissions. However, information on the carbon storage across different age ranges in exotic pine plantations is often lacking. We first estimated the ecosystem carbon storage across different age ranges of exotic pine plantations in China by quantifying above- and below-ground ecosystem carbon pools. The carbon storage of each tree component of exotic pine (Pinus elliottii) increased significantly with increasing age in Duchang and Yiyang areas. The stem carbon storage except <10 years in Ji'an areas was the largest component among all other components, which accounts for about 50% of the total carbon storage followed by roots (~28%), branches (~18%), and foliage (~9%). The mean total tree carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across three study areas was 3.69, 13.91 and $20.57Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. The carbon stocks in understory and forest floor were age-independent. Total tree and soil were two dominant carbon pools in slash pine plantations at all age sequences. The carbon contribution of aboveground ecosystem increased with increasing age, while that of belowground ecosystem declined. The mean total ecosystem carbon storage of slash pine plantations for <10, 10-20 and 20-30 years across China was 30.26, 98.66 and $98.89Mg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Although subtropical climate in China was suitable for slash pine growth, the mean total carbon stocks in slash pine plantations at all age sequences from China were lower than that values reported in American slash pine plantations.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.121-127
• /
• 2012

Cool-temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests are one of dominant forest cover types in Asia monsoon climate regions. However, our understanding of how much storages carbon in these ecosystems is limited. We studied carbon storage in three cool-temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests at Jirisan National Park, Korea. The biomass of trees in the three stands on an average was $112tC\;ha^{-1}$ and ranged from 107 to $119tC\;ha^{-1}$. The total amount of soil organic matter at a depth of 30 cm in the three stands on an average was $66tC\;ha^{-1}$. In addition, the total carbon stocks of biomass and soil was approximately $178tC\;ha^{-1}$, ranged from 167 to $184tC\;ha^{-1}$. Above values among three stands did not show the valuable difference at Jirisan National Park. The amounts of carbon storage in three ecosystems at Jirisan National Park, were higher than those of other studies significantly, except Seoraksan National Park.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.408-414
• /
• 2008

Importance of climate change and its impact on agriculture and environment has increased with the rise Green House Gases (GHGs) concentration in the atmosphere. To slow down the speed of climate change many efforts have been applied in industrial sectors to reduce GHGs emission and to enhance carbon storage. In agricultural sector, many researches have been performed on GHGs emission reduction, but few on the role of carbon sink. In this study, we investigated carbon balance and soil carbon storage in agricultural field in the barley-red pepper and barley-soybean cropping system. With the system for automatic measuring of carbon dioxide, net ecosystem production(NEP) was estimated to be $6.3ton\;CO_2\;ha-1$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer treatment plot and $10.6ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer with swine manure treatment plot in the barley-soybean rotation cropping. In the barley-red pepper rotation cropping, it was $12.0ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer treatment plot and $13.2ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for N-P-K chemical fertilizer with swine manure treatment plot. Soil carbon storage rate was estimated to be $0.7ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$ for the barley-soybean cropping system and $0.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}$ for barley-pepper cropping system. In appeared that agricultural lands may contribute to the greenhouse effect as a potential carbon sink preserving carbon into soil.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.219-230
• /
• 2021

BACKGROUND: Biochar is a solid material converted from agricultural biomass such as crop residues and pruning branch through pyrolysis under limited oxygen supply. Biochar consists of non-degradable carbon (C) double bonds and aromatic ring that are not readily broken down by microbial degradation in the soils. Due to the recalcitrancy of C in biochar, biochar application to the soils is of help in enhancing soil carbon sequestration in arable lands that might be a strategy of agricultural sector to mitigate climate change. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were collected from studies on the effect of biochar application on soil C content conducted in East Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea under different experimental conditions (incubation, column, pot, and field). The magnitude of soil C storage was positively correlated (p < 0.001) with biochar application rate under field conditions, reflecting accumulation of recalcitrant black C in the biochar. However, The changes in soil C contents per C input from biochar (% per t/ha) were 6.80 in field condition, and 12.58 in laboratory condition. The magnitude of increment of soil C was lower in field than in laboratory conditions due to potential loss of C through weathering of biochar under field conditions. Biochar production condition also affected soil C increment; more C increment was found with biochar produced at a high temperature (over 450℃). CONCLUSION: This review suggests that biochar application is a potential measures of C sequestration in agricultural soils. However, as the increment of soil C biochar was affected by biochar types, further studies are necessary to find better biochar types for enhanced soil C storage.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.151-156
• /
• 2013

Several soil properties were studied from three young created mitigation wetlands (<10 years old), which were hydrologically comparable in the Piedmont region of Virginia. The properties included soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, gravimetric soil moisture, and bulk density ($D_b$). No significant differences were found in the soil properties between the wetlands, except SOM and SOC. SOM and SOC indicated a slight increase with wetland age; the increase was more evident with SOC. Only about a half of SOC variability found in the wetlands was explained by SOM ($R^2$ = 0.499, p < 0.05). The majority of the ratios of SOM to SOC for these silt-loam soils ranged from 2.0 to 3.5, which was higher than the 1.724 Van Bemmelen factor, commonly applied for the conversion of SOM into SOC in estimating the carbon storage or accumulation capacity of wetlands. The results may caution the use of the conversion factor, which may lead to an overestimation of carbon sequestration potentials of newly created wetlands. SOC, but not SOM, was also correlated to $D_b$, which indicates soil compaction typical of most created wetlands that might limit vegetation growth and biomass production, eventually affecting carbon accumulation in the created wetlands.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.486-490
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of carbonized biomass from crop residues on soil carbon storage during soybean cultivation. The carbonized biomass was made by field scale mobile pyrolyzer. The treatments consisted of control without input and three levels of carbonized biomass inputs as $59.5kg10a^{-1}$, C-1 ; $119kg10a^{-1}$, C-2 ; $238kg10a^{-1}$, C-3. Soil samples were collected during the 113 days of experimental periods, and analyzed soil pH and moisture contents. Soil carbon contents and soybean yield were measured at harvesting period. For the experimental results, soil pH ranged from 6.8 to 7.5, and then increased with increasing carbonized material input. Soil moisture contents were slightly higher by 0.1~1.5% than the control, but consistent pattern was not observed among the treatments. Soil carbon and organic carbon contents in the treatments increased at 24 and 15% relative to the control at 15 days after sowing, respectively. Loss rate of SOC (soil organic carbon) relative to its initial content was 7.2% in control followed by C-1, 6.8%> C-2, 3.5%>C-3, 1.1% during the experimental periods. The SOC change rate decreased with increasing carbonized biomass rate. It was appeared that soybean yields were $476.9kg10a^{-1}$ in the control, and ranged from 453.6 to $527.3kg10a^{-1}$ in the treatments. However, significant difference was not found among the treatments. It might be considered that the experimental results will be applied to soil carbon sequestration for future study.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.41 no.12
• /
• pp.336-344
• /
• 2017

Background: Because of climate change, interest in the development of carbon pools has increased. In agricultural ecosystems, which can be more intensively managed than forests, measures to control carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) emission and absorption levels can be applied relatively easily. However, crop residues may be released into the atmosphere by decomposition or combustion. If we can develop scientific management techniques that enable these residues to be stocked on farmland, then it would be possible to convert farmlands from carbon emission sources to carbon pools. We analyzed and investigated soil respiration (Rs) rate characteristics according to input of carbonized residue of red peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), a widely grown crop in Korea, as a technique for increasing farmland carbon stock. Results: Rs rate in the carbonized biomass (CB) section was $226.7mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$, which was 18.1% lower than the $276.9mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ from the red pepper residue biomass (RB) section. The Rs rate of the control was $184.1mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$. In the following year, Rs in the CB section was $204.0mg\;CO_2\;m{-2}h^{-1}$, which was 38.2% lower than the $330.1mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ from the RB section; the control emitted $198.6mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$. Correlation between Rs and soil temperature ((Ts) at a depth of 5 cm) was $R^2=0.51$ in the RB section, which was higher than the other experimental sections. A comparison of annual decomposition rates between RB and CB showed a large difference, 41.4 and 9.7%, respectively. The results showed that carbonization of red pepper residues reduced the rates of decomposition and Rs. Conclusions: The present study confirmed that the Rs rate can be reduced by carbonization of residue biomass and putting it in the soil and that the Rs rate and Ts (5 cm) were positively correlated. Based on the results, it was determined that approximately $1.2t\;C\;ha^{-1}$ were sequestered in the soil in the first year and $3.0t\;C\;ha^{-1}$ were stored the following year. Therefore, approximately $1.5t\;C\;ha^{-1}year^{-1}$ are expected to be stocked in the soil, making it possible to develop farmlands into carbon pools.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.159-165
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND: Carbonized biomass is increasingly used as a tool of soil carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was to evaluate soil carbon storage to application of carbonized biomass derived from pear tree pruning.METHODS AND RESULTS: The carbonized biomass was a mobile pyrolyzer with field scale, which a reactor was operated about 400~500℃ for 5 hours. The treatments were consisted of a control without input of carbonized biomass and two levels of carbonized biomass inputs as 6.06 Mg/ha, C-1 and 12.12 Mg/ha, C-2. It was shown that the soil carbon pools were 49.3 Mg/ha for C-1, 57.8 Mg/ha for C-2 and 40.1 Mg/ha for the control after experimental periods. The contents of accumulated soil carbon pool were significantly (P < 0.001) increased with enhancing the carbonized biomass input amount. The slopes (1.496) of the regression equations are suggested that carbon storage from the soil was increased about 0.1496 Mg/ha with every 100 kg/ha of carbonized biomass input amount.CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that application of carbonized biomass would be increased the soil carbon contents due to a highly stable C-matrix of carbonized biomass. More long-term studies are needed to be proved how long does carbon stay in orchard soils.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.128-138
• /
• 2018

Background: This study investigated the variation of soil organic carbon in four land cover types: natural and mixed forest, cultivated land, Eucalyptus plantation and open bush land. The study was conducted in the Birr watershed of the upper Blue Nile ('Abbay') river basin. Methods: The data was subjected to a two-way of ANOVA analysis using the general linear model (GLM) procedures of SAS. Pairwise comparison method was also used to assess the mean difference of the land uses and depth levels depending on soil properties. Total of 148 soil samples were collected from two depth layers: 0-10 and 10-20 cm. Results: The results showed that overall mean soil organic carbon stock was higher under natural and mixed forest land use compared with other land use types and at all depths ($29.62{\pm}1.95Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$), which was 36.14, 28.36, and 27.63% more than in cultivated land, open bush land, and Eucalyptus plantation, respectively. This could be due to greater inputs of vegetation and reduced decomposition of organic matter. On the other hand, the lowest soil organic carbon stock under cultivated land could be due to reduced inputs of organic matter and frequent tillage which encouraged oxidation of organic matter. Conclusions: Hence, carbon concentrations and stocks under natural and mixed forest and Eucalyptus plantation were higher than other land use types suggesting that two management strategies for improving soil conditions in the watershed: to maintain and preserve the forest in order to maintain carbon storage in the future and to recover abandoned crop land and degraded lands by establishing tree plantations to avoid overharvesting in natural forests.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.425-436
• /
• 2015

The carbon cycle came into the spotlight due to the climate change and forests are well-known for their capacity to store carbon amongst other terrestrial ecosystems. The annual organic carbon of litter production, forest floor litter layer, soil, aboveground and belowground part of plant, standing biomass, net primary production, uptake of organic carbon, soil respiration, etc. were measured in Mt. Worak in order to understand the production and carbon budget of Quercus serrata forest that are widely spread in the central and southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The total amount of organic carbon of Q. serrata forest during the study period (2010-2013) was 130.745 ton C ha^-1. The aboveground part of plant, belowground part of plant, forest floor litter layer, and organic carbon in soil was 50.041, 12.510, 4.075, and 64.119 ton C ha^-1, respectively. The total average of carbon fixation in plants from photosynthesis was 4.935 ton C ha^-1 yr^-1 and organic carbon released from soil respiration to microbial respiration was 3.972 ton C ha^-1 yr^-1. As a result, the net ecosystem production of Q. serrata forest estimated from carbon fixation and soil respiration was 0.963 ton C ha^-1 yr^-1. Therefore, it seems that Q. serrata forest can act as a sink that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. The carbon uptake of Q. serrata forest was highest in stem of the plant and the research site had young forest which had many trees with small diameter at breast height (DBH). Consequentially, it seems that active matter production and vigorous carbon dioxide assimilation occurred in Q. serrata forest and these results have proven to be effective for Q. serrata forest to play a role as carbon storage and NEP.