Tall Fescue Management in the Piedmont: Sequestration of Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen
Grazing is shown to be superior to haying for organic C and N sequestration. Sequestration rates of 1.51 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 and 0.126 Mg N ha−1 yr−1 were measured during managed grazing of tall fescue over a period of 8 years on land in the southeastern United States that had previously been degraded via haying.
Soil Carbon Sequestration in U.S. Rangelands
This Environmental Defense Fund issues paper from 2009 recognized the magnitude of rangelands as a global ecosystem (up to half the land surface area of the planet) and of rangeland soils as a carbon sink suitable to mitigate global warming through proper management actions (“protocols”). It states that on the 761 million acres of rangelands in the United States, 198 million tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) – or 3.3% of US fossil fuel emissions – could be sequestered into newly formed soil each year for 30 years. Several actions for soil improvement on rangelands are presented, the number one of which is “Conversion of abandoned and degraded cropland to grassland.” Some other recommended actions include avoiding conversion of rangeland to croplands in the first place, extensive grazing management and adjusting stocking rates.
The Potential of U.S. Grazing Lands to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect
This book describes grazing lands, the areas they occupy, and their important role in sequestering C to help mitigate the greenhouse effect. Table 16.1 shows that rangelands in the US can sequester between 17.5 and 90.5 million metric tons of carbon per year through soil enhancement measures including improved grazing and conversion of crops to pasture.
