Disentangling drivers of soil organic carbon storage in deltaic rice paddies from the Ebro Delta
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Author
Rochera, Carlos
Camacho, Antonio
Publication date
2023-04-17ISSN
0341-8162
Abstract
Paddy farming can potentially sequester carbon. However, agricultural practices may alter the stability of the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and thereby increase carbon mobilization in the topsoil and subsoil. We hypothesize that both agricultural practices and soil physical–chemical characteristics, mostly those related to the type of the parental soil where the paddy is established, play an important role in SOC stabilization and sequestration. To test this, we profiled the biochemical characteristics of soil organic matter (SOM) and the SOC concentrations in sediment cores of 10 rice fields from the Ebro Delta (Northeast Spain) representing former reclaimed habitats (i.e., peatlands, meadows, coastal lagoons, riverbanks and salt marshes). The effects of physical–chemical soil properties on SOM content were tested with Generalized Linear Models and the best models were selected using information-theoretic approach. The optical characteristics of SOM extracts were analyzed by UV–Visible and fluorescence spectrophotometry, and six fluorescence components were identified by Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC). Higher clay and lower sand content explained the greater SOM presence in topsoil while higher clay content and salinity prevailed as the main explanatory factors in the subsoil showing a positive correlation with SOM content. The results revealed a correlated gradient of SOM quantity and quality where in SOM-rich soils both the aromaticity and the humification degree were higher while in soils with lower SOM content it was fresher and more microbially derived. Current agricultural practices favored SOM humification in the topsoil while the variability in SOM quality in subsoil is attributed to the combination of soil physical–chemical characteristics (pH, conductivity and clay content) and the previous habitat’s influence. This study represents a comprehensive empirical analysis on the carbon stocks in rice fields and the identification of soil physical–chemical factors, related to prior land uses, favoring soil carbon accumulation. These results may have major implications in decision-making process for climate change mitigation in vulnerable Mediterranean coastal paddies.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
574 - General ecology and biodiversity
Pages
53
Publisher
Elsevier
Is part of
CATENA
Citation
Belenguer-Manzanedo, María, Carlos Rochera, Carles Alcaraz, Maite Martínez-Eixarch, and Antonio Camacho. 2023. "Disentangling Drivers Of Soil Organic Carbon Storage In Deltaic Rice Paddies From The Ebro Delta". CATENA 228: 107131. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2023.107131.
Grant agreement number
INIA/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/RTA2014-00058-C03-03/ES/Mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático en arrozales costeros: definición de buenas prácticas para reducir emisiones y valoración de variedades tolerantes a la salinidad/
EC/LIFE/LIFE13 ENV-ES-001182/EU/Adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change in the Ebro Delta/EBRO-ADMICLIM
MICINN/Programa Estatal de generación del conocimiento y fortalecimiento científico y tecnológico del sistema I+D+I y Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/PID2019-104742RB-I00/ES/Factores clave y efectos del estado de conservación y usos sobre balances de C y la mitigación del cambio climático en humedales mediterráneos: aproximación funcional /CLIMAWET-CONS
Program
Aigües Marines i Continentals
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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