Valuing root carbon
Recent data indicate that underground biomass contributes 2x more than aboveground biomass to build-up and preserve soil organic matter.
Case study: maize fields
- To determine the relative contributions of above- and underground maize-derived C to stabilized soil organic matter
- To confirm and monitor the differential degradation of maize above- and underground maize residues under field conditions
- To evaluate the effects of variety versus field on underground maize biomass and root system architecture
Goal
Adjust current C-models for amount and degradability of underground biomass.
Techniques
- Field experiments
- Physical fractionation + 13C-based approach
- LI-8100 & Picarro CRDS soil CO2 flux system
- X-ray μCT 3D root systems
