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Montane Meadows: A Soil Carbon Sink or Source?

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Abstract

As the largest biogeochemically active terrestrial reserve of carbon (C), soils have the potential to either mitigate or amplify rates of climate change. Ecosystems with large C stocks and high rates of soil C sequestration, in particular, may have outsized impacts on regional and global C cycles. Montane meadows have large soil C stocks relative to surrounding ecosystems. However, anthropogenic disturbances in many meadows may have altered the balance of C inputs and outputs, potentially converting these soils from net C sinks to net sources of C to the atmosphere. Here, we quantified ecosystem-level C inputs and outputs to estimate the annual net soil C flux from 13 montane meadows spanning a range of conditions throughout the California Sierra Nevada. Our results suggest that meadow soils can be either large net C sinks (577.6 ± 250.5 g C m−2 y−1) or sources of C to the atmosphere (− 391.6 ± 154.2 g C m−2 y−1). Variation in the direction and magnitude of net soil C flux appears to be driven by belowground C inputs. Vegetation species and functional group composition were not associated with the direction of net C flux, but climate and watershed characteristics were. Our results demonstrate that, per unit area, montane meadows hold a greater potential for C sequestration than the surrounding forest. However, legacies of disturbance have converted some meadows to strong net C sources. Accurate quantification of ecosystem-level C fluxes is critical for the development of regional C budgets and achieving global emissions goals.

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Data Accessibility

Data are available online at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18g6. Data sets include: soil C stocks, annual GHG budgets, 13C pulse-labeling results, vegetation biomass and species composition, annual net soil carbon flux calculations, and sensitivity analysis. All other data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many field and laboratory assistants who helped with the collection and processing of the field data. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife funded this work (P1496002, P1496004, P1496008, P1496009). B.W.S acknowledges additional support from the Bella Vista Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, The University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St. Mail Stop 186, Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA

    Cody C. Reed, Paul S. J. Verburg & Benjamin W. Sullivan

  2. American Rivers, 2150 Allston Way, Suite 320, Berkeley, California, 94704, USA

    Amy G. Merrill

  3. California Trout, Inc., Sierra Headwaters Program, P.O. Box 3442, Mammoth Lakes, California, 93546, USA

    W. Mark Drew

  4. Truckee River Watershed Council, PO Box 8568, Truckee, California, 96162, USA

    Beth Christman

  5. South Yuba River Citizens League, 313 Railroad Ave Suite 101, Nevada City, California, 95959, USA

    Rachel A. Hutchinson

  6. Tahoe National Forest, 10811 Stockrest Springs Rd., Truckee, California, 96161, USA

    Rachel A. Hutchinson

  7. VHB, 40 Idx Dr 100 #200, South Burlington, Vermont, 05403, USA

    Levi Keszey

  8. Sierra Foothill Conservancy, P.O. Box 691, Mariposa, California, 95338, USA

    Melissa Odell

  9. Department of Agriculture, Veterinary and Rangeland Sciences, The University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA

    Sherman Swanson

  10. Plumas Corporation, 47 Trilogy Lane, Quincy, California, 95971, USA

    Jim Wilcox

  11. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sierra Nevada Research Institute, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, California, 95343, USA

    Stephen C. Hart

  12. The Global Water Center, The University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA

    Benjamin W. Sullivan

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  1. Cody C. Reed
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Correspondence to Cody C. Reed.

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Author Contributions

CR, AM, LK, MO, SH and BS collected field data and conducted laboratory analyses; CR, BS, SH and PV conducted the pulse-labeling experiment; CR and BS conducted statistical analyses; AM, SH, BS and MD provided technical coordination among project partners; MD, BC, RH, MO, JW, SS, AM and BS obtained funding and landowner permission; CR wrote the manuscript with assistance from BS and substantial input from all authors.

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Reed, C.C., Merrill, A.G., Drew, W.M. et al. Montane Meadows: A Soil Carbon Sink or Source?. Ecosystems 24, 1125–1141 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00572-x

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