Pyrogenic Carbon Lacks Long-Term Persistence in Temperate Arable Soils

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Lutfalla, S., Abiven, S., Barré, P., Wiedemeier, D. B., Christensen, B. T., Houot, S., Kätterer,T., Macdonald, A. J., Van Oort, F. and Chenu, C. 2017. Pyrogenic Carbon Lacks Long-Term Persistence in Temperate Arable Soils. Frontiers in Earth Science. 5 (96). https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2017.00096

AuthorsLutfalla, S., Abiven, S., Barré, P., Wiedemeier, D. B., Christensen, B. T., Houot, S., Kätterer,T., Macdonald, A. J., Van Oort, F. and Chenu, C.
Abstract

Pyrogenic organic carbon (PyOC) derived from incomplete burning of biomass is considered the most persistent fraction of soil organic carbon (SOC), being expected to remain in soil for centuries. However, PyOC persistence has seldom been evaluated under field conditions. Based on a unique set of soils from five European long-term bare fallows (LTBF), i.e., vegetation-free field experiments, we provide the first direct comparison between PyOC and SOC persistence in temperate arable soils. We found that soil PyOC contents decreased more rapidly than expected from current concepts, the mean residence time (MRT) of native PyOC being just 1.6 times longer than that of SOC. At the oldest experimental site, 55% of the initial PyOC remained after 80 years of bare fallow. Our results suggest that while the potential for long-term C storage exists, the persistence of PyOC in soil may currently be overestimated.

Keywordssoil organic matter persistence; soil carbon sequestration; carbon cycle; pyrogenic carbon; climate change mitigation; long term bare fallows
Year of Publication2017
JournalFrontiers in Earth Science
Journal citation5 (96)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2017.00096
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeThe Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments including Sample Archive and e-RA database [2012-2017]
The Rothamsted Long Term Experiments [2017-2022]
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online23 Nov 2017
Publication process dates
Accepted09 Nov 2017
PublisherFrontiers Media SA
Copyright licenseCC BY
ISSN2296-6463

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/8v560/pyrogenic-carbon-lacks-long-term-persistence-in-temperate-arable-soils

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