Register      Login
The Rangeland Journal The Rangeland Journal Society
Journal of the Australian Rangeland Society
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > RJ > RJ05015
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 28(2)

Organic carbon partitioning in soil and litter in subtropical woodlands and open forests: a case study from the Brigalow Belt, Queensland

S. H. Roxburgh A B F , B. G. Mackey A C , C. Dean A B D , L. Randall A E , A. Lee A C and J. Austin A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B Ecosystem Dynamics Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

C School of Resources, Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

D Current address: Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, PO Box 2130, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia.

E Bureau of Rural Sciences, PO Box 858, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Current address: Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre & School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: Stephen.Roxburgh@ensisjv.com

The Rangeland Journal 28(2) 115-125 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ05015
Submitted: 12 February 2005  Accepted: 16 November 2005   Published: 9 November 2006

Abstract

A woodland–open forest landscape within the Brigalow Belt South bioregion of Queensland, Australia, was surveyed for soil organic carbon, soil bulk density and soil-surface fine-litter carbon. Soil carbon stocks to 30 cm depth across 14 sites, spanning a range of soil and vegetation complexes, ranged from 10.7 to 61.8 t C/ha, with an overall mean of 36.2 t C/ha. Soil carbon stocks to 100 cm depth ranged from 19.4 to 150.5 t C/ha, with an overall mean of 72.9 t C/ha. The standing stock of fine litter ranged from 1.0 to 7.0 t C/ha, with a mean of 2.6 t C/ha, and soil bulk density averaged 1.4 g/cm3 at the soil surface, and 1.6 g/cm3 at 1 m depth. These results contribute to the currently sparse database of soil organic carbon and bulk density measurements in uncultivated soils within Australian open forests and woodlands.

The estimates of total soil organic carbon stock calculated to 30 cm depth were further partitioned into resistant plant material (RPM), humus (HUM), and inert organic matter (IOM) pools using diffuse mid-infrared (MIR) analysis. Prediction of the HUM and RPM pools using the RothC soil carbon model agreed well with the MIR measurements, confirming the suitability of RothC for modelling soil organic carbon in these soils. Methods for quantifying soil organic carbon at landscape scales were also explored, and a new regression-based technique for estimating soil carbon stocks from simple field-measured soil attributes has been proposed.

The results of this study are discussed with particular reference to the difficulties encountered in the collection of the data, their limitations, and opportunities for the further development of methods for quantifying soil organic carbon at landscape scales.

Additional keywords: bulk density, flux, organic matter, RothC, surface.


Acknowledgments

We thank Drs Neil McKenzie and Jan Skjemstad for technical advice. We further thank Drs Skjemstad and RDB Whalley and 3 anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.


References


Bird M., Kracht O., Derrien D., Zhou Y. (2003) The effect of soil texture and roots on the stable carbon isotope composition of soil organic carbon. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 77–94.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | (accessed 5 December 2005).

Coleman K. , and Jenkinson D. S. (1999). ‘RothC – 26.3. A model for the turnover of carbon in soil, model description and windows users guide. IACR.’ (Harpenden: Rothamsted.)

Dalal R. C. (1998) Soil microbial biomass – what do the numbers really mean? Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 649–665.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dalal R. C., Harms B. P., Krull E., Wang W. J. (2005) Total soil organic matter and its labile pools following mulga (Acacia aneura) clearing for pasture development and cropping 1. Total and labile carbon. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, 13–20.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dean C., Roxburgh S. H., Mackey B. G. (2004) Forecasting landscape-level carbon sequestration using gridded, spatially adjusted tree growth. Forest Ecology and Management 194, 109–129.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Harden G. J. (1990). ‘Flora of New South Wales.’ Vol. 1. (New South Wales University Press: Sydney.)

Harden G. J. (1991). ‘Flora of New South Wales.’ Vol. 2. (New South Wales University Press: Sydney.)

Harden G. J. (1992). ‘Flora of New South Wales.’ Vol. 3. (New South Wales University Press: Sydney.)

Harmon M. E. (2001) Carbon sequestration in forests – addressing the scale question. Journal of Forestry 99, 24–29. open url image1

Harms B. , and Dalal R. (2003). Paired-site sampling for soil carbon estimation – Queensland. National Carbon Accounting System Technical Report No. 37, Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, ACT.

IPCC (1997). ‘Revised IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. Intergovernmental panel on climate change.’ (Meterological Office: Bracknell.)

Janik L. , Spouncer L. , Correll R. , and Skjemstad J. (2002). Sensitivity analysis of the Roth-C soil carbon model (Ver. 26.3 Excel). National Carbon Accounting System Technical Report No. 30, Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, ACT.

Janik L. J., Skjemstad J. O. (1995) Characterization and analysis of soils using mid-infrared partial least-squares. 2. Correlations with some laboratory data. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 637–650.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Janik L. J., Skjemstad J. O., Raven M. D. (1995) Characterization and analysis of soils using mid-infrared partial least squares. 1. Correlations with Xrf-determined major element composition. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 621–636.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Janik L. J., Merry R. H., Skjemstad J. O. (1998) Can mid infrared diffuse reflectance analysis replace soil extractions? Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 681–696.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Jenkinson D. S. (1990) The turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil. Philospohical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 329, 361–368. open url image1

Jenkinson D. S., Coleman K. (1994) Calculating the annual input of organic matter to soil from measurements of total organic carbon and radiocarbon. European Journal of Soil Science 45, 167–174.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Jobbagy E. G., Jackson R. B. (2000) The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological Applications 10, 423–436.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Johnston R. M., Barry S. J., Bleys E., Bui E. N., Moran C. J., Simon D. A. P., Carlile P., McKenzie N. J., Henderson B. L., Chapman G., Imhoff M., Maschmedt D., Howe D., Grose C., Schoknecht N., Powell B., Grundy M (2003) ASRIS: the database. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 1021–1036.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Keith H. , Barrett D. , and Keenan R. (2000). Review of allometric relationships for estimating woody biomass for New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. National Carbon Accounting System Technical Report No. 5B, Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, ACT.

Knowles T. A., Singh B. (2003) Carbon storage in cotton soils of northern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 889–903.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lee A. , Norman P. , Wood M. , and Davey S. (2003). Utilising integrated sampling strategies for regional and continental forest monitoring through criteria and indicators. In: ‘Proceedings joint Australia and New Zealand Institute of Forestry Conference’. (Eds E. Mason and C. Perley.) pp. 231–242. (New Zealand Institute of Forestry: Christchurch.)

Lucas R. M., Moghaddam M., Cronin N. (2004) Microwave scattering from mixed species forests, Queensland, Australia. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 42, 2142–2159.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Martens D. A., Emmerich W., McLain J. E. T., Johnsen T. N. (2005) Atmospheric carbon mitigation potential of agricultural management in the southwestern USA. Soil and Tillage Research 83, 95–119.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McDonald R. C. , Isbell R. F. , Speight J. G. , Walker J. , and Hopkins M. S. (1990). ‘Australian soil and land survey field handbook.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne.)

McKenzie N. J. , Jacquier D. W. , Ashton L. J. , and Cresswell H. P. (2000). ‘Estimation of soil properties using the atlas of Australian soils.’ (CSIRO Land and Water: Canberra.)

Merry R. H., Spouncer L. R. (1988) The measurement of carbon in soils using a microprocessor-controlled resistance furnace. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 9, 707–720. open url image1

Parr J. F., Sullivan L. A. (2005) Soil carbon sequestration in phytoliths. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37, 117–124.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Paul K. L., Polglase P. J., Richards G. P. (2003) Predicted change in soil carbon following afforestation or reforestation, and analysis of controlling factors by linking a C accounting model (CAMFor) to models of forest growth (3PG), litter decomposition (GENDEC) and soil C turnover (RothC). Forest Ecology and Management 177, 485–501.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Press W. H. , Flannery B. P. , Teukolsky S. A. , and Vetterling W. T. (1986). ‘Numerical recipes, the art of scientific computing.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Raupach M., Tucker B. M. (1959) The field determination of soil reaction. Journal of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences 25, 129–133. open url image1

Schlesinger W. H. (1985) The formation of caliche in soils of the Mojave Desert, California. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 49, 57–66.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sheldrick B. H. , and Wang C. (1993). Particle-size distribution. In: ‘Soil sampling and methods of analysis, Canadian Society of Soil Science’. (Ed. M. R. Carter.) pp. 499–511. (Lewis Publishers: Ann Arbor, MI.)

Skjemstad J. O., Spouncer L. R., Cowie B., Swift R. S. (2004) Calibration of the Rothamsted organic carbon turnover model (RothC ver. 26.3), using measurable soil organic carbon pools. Australian Journal of Soil Research 42, 79–88.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Smith D. , and Grundy M. (2002). Pre-clearing soil carbon levels in Queensland. In: ‘Pre-clearing soil carbon levels in Australia’. National Carbon Accounting System Technical Report No. 12. (Ed. A. Webb.) pp. 123–148. (Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, ACT.)

Thackway R. and Cresswell I. D. (1995). ‘An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia: a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves Cooperative Program. Version 4.’ (Australian Nature Conservation Agency: Canberra.)

Webb A. (2002). Pre-clearing soil carbon levels in Australia. National Carbon Accounting System Technical Report No. 12, Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, ACT.









1Botanical nomenclature according to Harden (1990, 1991, 1992).