A systematic approach to soil carbon inventory on rangelands
Shawn W. Salley
A * and Joel R. Brown B
A
B
Abstract
Significant and lasting soil carbon change in rangeland ecosystems requires ecological state change. Although within-ecological state, soil carbon dynamics can occur, they are driven primarily by short-term fluctuations in weather, specifically precipitation, and are insufficient to provide reliable estimates of change to support policy and management decisions. Changes in grazing management typically do not result in ecological state change, apart from the vegetation structural change associated with long-term overgrazing. Dominant vegetation attributes such as shrub-to-grass ratios, cool season versus warm season plant production, and annual versus perennial growth habit define ecological state and are detectable accurately and cost-effectively using existing remote-sensing technology. These vegetation attributes, along with stationary soil properties, allow for mapping at scales consistent with a variety of policy and management decisions and provide a logical basis for developing a credible sampling framework for verification. Furthermore, state-transition models of ecological state dynamics are designed to provide information that can be used to support inventories and management decisions for soil carbon and other ecosystem services.
Keywords: ecological restoration, ecological site, ecological state, ecosystem services, greenhouse gas management, livestock grazing management, nature accounting, rangeland soil carbon, resource inventories, shrub invasion, state transition model.
References
Allen DE, Pringle MJ, Bray S, Hall TJ, O’Reagain PO, Phelps D, Cobon DH, Bloesch PM, Dalal RC (2013) What determines soil organic carbon stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia? Soil Research 51, 695-706.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
AMLB (2023) ‘Carbon neutral 2030 R&D | Meat & Livestock Australia.’ (MLA Corporate) Available at https://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/Environment-sustainability/carbon-neutral-2030-rd/ [verified 12 March 2024]
Aoyama L, Bartolome J, Silva L, Silver WL (2022) Using ecological site descriptions to make ranch-level decisions about where to manage for soil organic carbon. California Agriculture 76, 85-92.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Archer SR, Predick KI (2014) An ecosystem services perspective on brush management: research priorities for competing land-use objectives. Journal of Ecology 102, 1394-1407.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Batjes NH (1996) Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. European Journal of Soil Science 47, 151-163.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Bestelmeyer BT, Ash A, Brown JR, Densambuu B, Fernández-Giménez M, Johanson J, Levi M, Lopez D, Peinetti R, Rumpff L, Shaver P (2017) State and Transition Models: theory, applications, and challenges. In ‘Rangeland systems’. Springer Series on Environmental Management. (Ed. DD Briske) pp. 303–345. (Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland) 10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2_9
Biederman JA, Scott RL, Bell TW, Bowling DR, Dore S, Garatuza‐Payan J, Kolb TE (2017) CO2 exchange and evapotranspiration across dryland ecosystems of southwestern North America. Global Change Biology 23(10), 4204-4221.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Bird SB, Herrick JE, Wander MM, Wright SF (2002) Spatial heterogeneity of aggregate stability and soil carbon in semi-arid rangeland. Environmental Pollution 116, 445-455.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Booker K, Huntsinger L, Bartolome JW, Sayre NF, Stewart W (2013) What can ecological science tell us about opportunities for carbon sequestration on arid rangelands in the United States? Global Environmental Change 23, 240-251.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Briske DD, Archer SR, Burchfield E, Burnidge W, Derner JD, Gosnell H, Hatfield J, Kazanski CE, Khalil M, Lark TJ, Nagler P, Sala O, Sayre NF, Stackhouse-Lawson KR (2023) Supplying ecosystem services on US rangelands. Nature Sustainability 6, 1524-1532.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Brown JR, Havstad KM (2016) Using ecological site information to improve landscape management for ecosystem services. Rangelands 38, 318-321.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Brown JR, MacLeod N (2012) A site-based approach to delivering rangeland ecosystem services. The Rangeland Journal 33, 99-108.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Brown J, Angerer J, Salley SW, Blaisdell R, Stuth JW (2010) Improving estimates of rangeland carbon sequestration potential in the US Southwest. Rangeland Ecology & Management 63(1), 147-154.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Campbell EE, Paustian K (2015) Current developments in soil organic matter modeling and the expansion of model applications: a review. Environmental Research Letters 10, 123004.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Coleman K, Jenkinson DS (1996) RothC-26.3 - A Model for the turnover of carbon in soil. In ‘Evaluation of soil organic matter models’. (Eds DS Powlson, P Smith, JU Smith) pp. 237–246. (Springer: Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany) 10.1007/978-3-642-61094-3_17
Conant RT, Cerri CEP, Osborne BB, Paustian K (2017) Grassland management impacts on soil carbon stocks: a new synthesis. Ecological Applications 27, 662-668.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Dean C, Roxburgh SH, Harper RJ, Eldridge DJ, Watson IW, Wardell-Johnson GW (2012) Accounting for space and time in soil carbon dynamics in timbered rangelands. Ecological Engineering 38(1), 51-64.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Derner JD, Augustine DJ, Frank DA (2019) Does grazing matter for soil organic carbon sequestration in the western North American Great Plains? Ecosystems 22, 1088-1094.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Duniway MC, Bestelmeyer BT, Tugel A (2010) Soil processes and properties that distinguish ecological sites and states. Rangelands 32, 9-15.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Eastburn DJ, O’Geen AT, Tate KW, Roche LM (2017) Multiple ecosystem services in a working landscape. PLoS One 12(3), e0166595.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Follett RF (2001) Soil management concepts and carbon sequestration in cropland soils. Soil and Tillage Research 61, 77-92.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Gebhart DL, Johnson HB, Mayeux HS, Polley HW (1994) The CRP increases soil organic carbon. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 49, 488-492.
| Google Scholar |
Gile LH, Peterson FF, Grossman RB (1966) Morphological and genetic sequences of carbonate accumulation in desert soils. Soil Science 101, 347-360.
| Google Scholar |
GML (2024) Global monitoring laboratory – carbon cycle greenhouse gases. Available at https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/carbontracker/ [accessed 18 March 2024]
Hawkins H-J (2017) A global assessment of Holistic Planned Grazing™ compared with season-long, continuous grazing: meta-analysis findings. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 34, 65-75.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Hawkins H-J, Short A, Kirkman KP (2017) Does holistic planned grazing work on native rangelands? African Journal of Range & Forage Science 34(2), 59-63.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Henderson G, Cox F, Ganesh S, Jonker A, Young W, Janssen PH (2015) Rumen microbial community composition varies with diet and host, but a core microbiome is found across a wide geographical range. Scientific Reports 5, 14567.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Hristov AN, Johnson KA, Kebreab E (2014) Livestock methane emissions in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, E1320.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Hunt JE, Laubach J, Barthel M, Fraser A, Phillips RL (2016) Carbon budgets for an irrigated intensively grazed dairy pasture and an unirrigated winter-grazed pasture. Biogeosciences 13, 2927-2944.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kaveh N, Ebrahimi A, Asadi E (2022) Environmental drivers of above-ground biomass in semi-arid rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 44, 165-175.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kim JH, Jobbágy EG, Richter DD, Trumbore SE, Jackson RB (2020) Agricultural acceleration of soil carbonate weathering. Global Change Biology 26, 5988-6002.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Lal R (2004) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304, 1623-1627.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Lal R, Smith P, Jungkunst HF, Mitsch WJ, Lehmann J, Nair PKR, McBratney AB, Sá JC, de M, Schneider J, Zinn YL, Skorupa ALA, Zhang H-L, Minasny B, Srinivasrao C, Ravindranath NH (2018) The carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 73, 145A-152A.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Lark RM (2009) Estimating the regional mean status and change of soil properties: two distinct objectives for soil survey. European Journal of Soil Science 60(5), 748-56.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Li W, Ciais P, Guenet B, Peng S, Chang J, Chaplot V, Khudyaev S, Peregon A, Piao S, Wang Y, Yue C (2018) Temporal response of soil organic carbon after grassland‐related land‐use change. Global Change Biology 24(10), 4731-4746.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Maxwell TM, Germino MJ (2022) The effects of cheatgrass invasion on US Great Basin carbon storage depend on interactions between plant community composition, precipitation seasonality, and soil climate regime. Journal of Applied Ecology 59, 2863-2873.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Maynard JJ, Levi MR (2017) Hyper-temporal remote sensing for digital soil mapping: characterizing soil-vegetation response to climatic variability. Geoderma 285, 94-109.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
McDonald SE, Badgery W, Clarendon S, Orgill S, Sinclair K, Meyer R, Butchart DB, Eckard R, Rowlings D, Grace P, Doran-Browne N, Harden S, Macdonald A, Wellington M, Pachas ANA, Eisner R, Amidy M, Harrison MT (2023) Grazing management for soil carbon in Australia: a review. Journal of Environmental Management 347, 119146.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
McKenna DM, Grams SE, Barasha M, Antoninka AJ, Johnson NC (2022) Organic and inorganic soil carbon in a semi-arid rangeland is primarily related to abiotic factors and not livestock grazing. Geoderma 419, 115844.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
McSherry ME, Ritchie ME (2013) Effects of grazing on grassland soil carbon: a global review. Global Change Biology 19, 1347-1357.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Mikhailova EA, Post CJ (2006) Effects of land use on soil inorganic carbon stocks in the Russian Chernozem. Journal of Environmental Quality 35, 1384-1388.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Miller GA, Rees RM, Griffiths BS, Ball BC, Cloy JM (2019) The sensitivity of soil organic carbon pools to land management varies depending on former tillage practices. Soil and Tillage Research 194, 104299.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Mokany K, Raison RJ, Prokushkin AS (2006) Critical analysis of root : shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Global Change Biology 12, 84-96.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Monger HC, Bestelmeyer BT (2006) The soil-geomorphic template and biotic change in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Journal of Arid Environments 65, 207-218.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Monger HC, Martinez-Rios JJ (2000) Inorganic carbon sequestration in grazing lands, The potential of US grazing lands to sequester carbon and mitigate the greenhouse effect. In ‘The potential of US grazing lands to sequester carbon and mitigate the greenhouse effect’. (Eds RF Follett, JM Kimble) pp. 87–118. (CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA)
Monger HC, Kraimer RA, Khresat S, Cole DR, Wang X, Wang J (2015) Sequestration of inorganic carbon in soil and groundwater. Geology 43, 375-378.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Moore JM, Manter DK, Maczko KA (2023) Rotational grazing strategies minimally impact soil microbial communities and carbon vynamics – a Texas case study. Land 12, 1517.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Morgan JA, Parton W, Derner JD, Gilmanov TG, Smith DP (2016) Importance of early season conditions and grazing on carbon dioxide fluxes in Colorado shortgrass steppe. Rangeland Ecology & Management 69, 342-350.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Natural Resources Conservation Service (2024) Ecological site descriptions | Natural Resources Conservation Service (usda.gov) [accessed 18 April 2024]
Nauman TW, Thompson JA, Teets J, Dilliplane T, Bell JW, Connolly SJ, Liebermann HJ, Yoast K (2015) Pedoecological modeling to guide forest restoration using ecological site descriptions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 79, 1406-1419.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Nauman TW, Burch SS, Humphries JT, Knight AC, Duniway MC (2022) A quantitative soil-geomorphic framework for developing and mapping ecological site groups. Rangeland Ecology & Management 81, 9-33.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
NCBA (2021) ‘Cattle Industry Commits to Climate Neutrality by 2040.’ (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) Available at https://www.ncba.org/ncba-news/news-releases/news/details/27404/cattle-industry-commits-to-climate-neutrality-by-2040 [accessed 12 March 2024]
O’Hara JK, Reyes J, Knight LG, Brown J (2023) Why has the adoption of rotational grazing declined in parts of the United States? Rangelands 45, 92-101.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Orgill SE, Waters CM, Melville G, Toole I, Alemseged Y, Smith W (2017) Sensitivity of soil organic carbon to grazing management in the semi-arid rangelands of south-eastern Australia. The Rangeland Journal 39, 153-167.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Parton WJ, Schimel DS, Cole CV, Ojima DS (1987) Analysis of factors controlling soil organic matter levels in Great Plains grasslands. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51, 1173-1179.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Paul C, Bartkowski B, Dönmez C, Don A, Mayer S, Steffens M, Weigl S, Wiesmeier M, Wolf A, Helming K (2023) Carbon farming: are soil carbon certificates a suitable tool for climate change mitigation? Journal of Environmental Management 330, 117142.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Piñeiro G, Paruelo JM, Oesterhald M (2006) Potential long-term impacts of livestock introduction on carbon and nitrogen cycling in grasslands of southern South America. Global Change Biology 12, 1267-1284.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Pringle MJ, Allen DE, Dalal RC, Payne JE, Mayer DG, O’Reagain P, Marchant BP (2011) Soil carbon stock in the tropical rangelands of Australia: effects of soil type and grazing pressure, and determination of sampling requirement. Geoderma 167, 261-273.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Prober SM, Cook G, Gosper CR, Hodgson JR, Langridge JM, Rumpff L, Williams RJ, Yates CJ, Richards AE (2023) ‘The Australian ecosystems model framework: eucalypt woodlands, Version 1.0.’ (CSIRO: Australia) Available at https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIcsiro:EP2023-2878 [accessed 19 June 2024]
Raza S, Irshad A, Margenot A, Zamanian K, Li N, Ullah S, Mehmood K, Ajmal Khan M, Siddique N, Zhou J, Mooney SJ, Kurganova I, Zhao X, Kuzyakov Y (2024) Inorganic carbon is overlooked in global soil carbon research: a bibliometric analysis. Geoderma 443, 116831.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Reeder J (2003) Overcoming spatial variation in measuring carbon stocks and sequestration potential of native rangelands in the western US. (pp. 193–200) In ‘Soil Organic Carbon and Agriculture: Developing Indicators for Policy Analyses. Proceedings of an OECD Expert meeting’, Ottawa, Canada, October 2002. 329 pp. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Ottawa)
Ren S, Terrer C, Li J, Cao Y, Yang S, Liu D (2024) Historical impacts of grazing on carbon stocks and climate mitigation opportunities. Nature Climate Change 14, 380-386.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Richards AE, Dickson F, Williams KJ, Cook GD, Roxburgh S, Murphy H, Doherty M, Warnick A, Metcalfe D, Prober SM (2020) ‘The Australian ecosystem models framework project: a conceptual framework.’ (CSIRO: Australia) 10.25919/f61q-1386
Ewamian Ltd, Ewamian People Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Richards AE, Brandon C Liu N, Mokany K, Schmidt RK, Smith GS, Williams KJ, Evans D, Ferrier S, Giljohann KM, Grainger D, Harwood TD, Hayward J, Jarvis D, Johnson S, Khan S, Lehmann EA, Liedloff AC, Murphy HT, Newnham G, Pascoe S, Roxburgh SH, Scheufele G, Stewart SB, Ewamian Ltd, Ewamian People Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Tagalaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Tetreault-Campbell S, Ware C (2024) ‘Experimental ecosystem accounts for the Flinders, Norman and Gilbert river catchments. A synthesis report from the Regional Ecosystem Accounting Pilot projects.’ (CSIRO) 10.25919/xeas-3102 [accessed 19 June 2024]
Roche LM, Cutts BB, Derner JD, Lubell MN, Tate KW (2015) On-ranch grazing xtrategies: context for the rotational grazing dilemma. Rangeland Ecology & Management 68, 248-256.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Sala OE, Yahdjian L, Havstad K, Aguiar MR (2017) Rangeland ecosystem eervices: nature’s supply and humans’ demand. In ‘Rangeland systems: processes, management and challenges’. (Ed. DD Briske) pp. 467–489. (Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland) 10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2_14
Salley SW, Talbot CJ, Brown JR (2016) The Natural Resources Conservation Service land resource hierarchy and ecological sites. Soil Science Society of America Journal 80(1), 1-9.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Sanderson JS, Beutler C, Brown JR, Burke I, Chapman T, Conant RT, Derner JD, Easter M, Fuhlendorf SD, Grissom G, Herrick J (2020) Cattle, conservation, and carbon in the western Great Plains. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 75, 5A-12A.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Sarkar R, Corriher-Olson V, Long C, Somenahally A (2020) Challenges and potentials for soil organic carbon sequestration in forage and grazing systems. Rangeland Ecology & Management 73, 786-795.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Schuman GE, Janzen HH, Herrick JE (2002) Soil carbon dynamics and potential carbon sequestration by rangelands. Environmental Pollution 116, 391-396.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Sharma R, Levi MR, Ricker MC, Thompson A, King EG, Robertson K (2024) Scaling of soil organic carbon in space and time in the southern Coastal Plain, USA. Science of the Total Environment 933, 173060.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Smith P (2004) How long before a change in soil organic carbon can be detected? Global Change Biology 10(11), 1878-1883.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Society for Range Management (2023) Rangeland Ecosystem Services: connecting nature and people. Available at https://rangelands.org/rangelands-provide-five-ecosystem-services/ [accessed 18 April 2024]
Spencer S, Ogle SM, Breidt FJ, Goebel JJ, Paustian K (2011) Designing a national soil carbon monitoring network to support climate change policy: a case example for US agricultural lands. Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management 1, 167-178.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Stanley PL, Wilson C, Patterson E, Machmuller MB, Cotrufo MF (2024) Ruminating on soil carbon: applying current understanding to inform grazing management. Global Change Biology 30, e17223.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Steele CM, Bestelmeyer BT, Burkett LM, Smith PL, Yanoff S (2012) Spatially explicit representation of State-and-Transition Models. Rangeland Ecology & Management 65, 213-222.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Svejcar T, Angell R, Bradford JA, Dugas W, Emmerich W, Frank AB, Gilmanov T, Haferkamp M, Johnson DA, Mayeux H, Mielnick P, Morgan J, Saliendra NZ, Schuman GE, Sims PL, Snyder K (2008) Carbon fluxes on North American rangelands. Rangeland Ecology & Management 61, 465-474.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Teague WR, Dowhower SL, Baker SA, Haile N, DeLaune PB, Conover DM (2011) Grazing management impacts on vegetation, soil biota and soil chemical, physical and hydrological properties in tall grass prairie. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 141, 310-322.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Throop HL, Munson S, Hornslein N, McClaran MP (2022) Shrub influence on soil carbon and nitrogen in a semi-arid grassland is mediated by precipitation and largely insensitive to livestock grazing. Arid Land Research and Management 36, 27-46.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Tugel AJ, Herrick JE, Brown JR, Mausbach MJ, Puckett W, Hipple K (2005) Soil change, soil survey, and natural resources decision making: a blueprint for action. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69(3), 738-747.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Venter ZS, Cramer MD, Hawkins H-J (2019) Rotational grazing management has little effect on remotely-sensed vegetation characteristics across farm fence-line contrasts. Agriculutre, Ecosystems and Environment 282, 40-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wang C, Houlton BZ, Liu D, Hou J, Cheng W, Bai E (2018) Stable isotopic constraints on global soil organic carbon turnover. Biogeosciences 15, 987-995.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Wang S, Xu L, Zhuang Q, He N (2021) Investigating the spatio-temporal variability of soil organic carbon stocks in different ecosystems of China. Science of The Total Environment 758, 143644.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Wang M, Guo X, Zhang S, Xiao L, Mishra U, Yang Y, Zhu B, Wang G, Mao X, Qian T, Jiang T, Shi Z, Luo Z (2022) Global soil profiles indicate depth-dependent soil carbon losses under a warmer climate. Nature Communications 13, 5514.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Webb NP, Edwards BL, Heller A, McCord SE, Schallner JW, Treminio RS, Wheeler BE, Stauffer NG, Spiegal S, Duniway MC, Traynor ACE, Kachergis E, Houdeshell C-A (2024) Establishing quantitative benchmarks for soil erosion and ecological monitoring, assessment, and management. Ecological Indicators 159, 111661.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Williams JC, Pierson FB, Spaeth KE, Brown JR, Al-Hamdan OZ, Weltz MA, Nearing MA, Herrick JE, Boll J, Robichaud PR, Goodrich DC, Heilman P, Guertin DP, Hernandez M, Wei H, Hardegree SP, Strand EK, Bates JD, Metz LJ, Nichols MH (2016) Incorporating hydrologic data and ecohydrologic relationships into ecological site descriptions. Rangeland Ecology & Management 69, 4-19.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Yang Y, Fang J, Ji C, Ma W, Mohammat A, Wang S, Wang S, Datta A, Robinson D, Smith P (2012) Widespread decreases in topsoil inorganic carbon stocks across China’s grasslands during 1980s–2000s. Global Change Biology 18, 3672-3680.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
