Landuse and Physiographic Region Effects on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Sequestration in Arkansas

Abstract

Increasing understanding of soil carbon (C) sequestration dynamics and general functioning in disappearing native grassland ecosystems, has the potential to enhance soil rehabilitation and ecosystem restoration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of landuse (native tallgrass prairie and managed agriculture) and physiographic region (northwest Arkansas and east-central Arkansas) on the change in soil C and nitrogen (N) storage and other soil properties over a 15-year period. Despite the native prairie losing soil C at a rate of 4.7 Mg ha-1 year-1 over the 15-year duration of this study, soil C storage in 2016 was more than 2.5 times greater in the native prairie than in the cultivated agroecosystems in the Grand Prairie. Averaged across landuse, TC concentration (P