Scaling Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Storage in a Changing Savanna Parkland Landscape

Texas A&M Research Foundation, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract 9981723 Wu Scaling soil C and N storage in a changing savanna parkland landscape Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and savannas has been widely reported in recent history. This phenomenon may alter the storage and dynamics of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in plants and soils, with possible implications for the global climate system. This study will examine how the spatial structure of soil organic C, N, and root mass changes with a shift from grass to woody plant domination. Novel geostatistical approaches will be utilized to extrapolate point measurements across large areas. The results will improve understanding of the spatial patterns of soil properties, and scientists' ability to estimate landscape-scale C and N from point samples and easily measured aboveground vegetation structures. The latter is critical to constraining and evaluating ecosystem simulation models being parameterized for large-scale applications, and estimating the magnitude of C and N accumulation that has accompanied woody plant encroachment into grasslands over the past century.