Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States

Abstract Soil organic carbon (C) sequestration and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) burial were measured in two floodplain wetlands' soils of the West Fork of the White River watershed (Indiana, United States) whose catchments differed in land use to better understand how land use practices affe...

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Main Authors: Christopher Craft, Shanze Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2024-02-01
Series:River
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/rvr2.79
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author Christopher Craft
Shanze Li
author_facet Christopher Craft
Shanze Li
author_sort Christopher Craft
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Soil organic carbon (C) sequestration and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) burial were measured in two floodplain wetlands' soils of the West Fork of the White River watershed (Indiana, United States) whose catchments differed in land use to better understand how land use practices affect wetland C and nutrient retention. The catchment of one floodplain, Upper West Fork, is dominated by row crop agriculture (61%) whereas the second catchment, Beanblossom Creek, is mostly forested (85%). Soils (0–30 cm) of the two floodplain wetlands had similar bulk density (1.23 g/cm3). Soil organic C and N were low in both floodplains but the percent organic C and N was two times greater (3.3% C, 0.22% N) in the agricultural floodplain than in the floodplain in the forested catchment (1.5% C, 0.14% N). Soil P was three times greater in the agricultural (1100 μg/g) than in the forested floodplain (350 μg/g). Recent soil accretion based on 137Cs which provides a historical record since 1964 (60 years), was two times greater in the agricultural floodplain (2.2 mm/year) than in the forested catchment (1.0 mm/year). Sediment deposition (2500 g/m2/year), C sequestration (90 g/m2/year), and N burial (7.5 g/m2/year) were three times greater in the agricultural floodplain and P burial was seven times greater (3.0 vs. 0.41 g/m2/year). Long‐term measurements (100 years) based on 210Pb did not show large differences in C sequestration and N burial between the two floodplains though soil accretion and sediment deposition were greater in the forested floodplain. We attribute these higher rates to greater erosion in the watershed before 1950 when the catchment had more agricultural land and before instruction on best management practices to reduce soil erosion. These findings confirm previously published studies that show that P enrichment and accumulation in floodplain soils represent legacy effects of agricultural land use in the catchment.
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spelling doaj.art-d0fcf03640c149d481f6a41cc6c850892024-04-01T19:00:15ZengWiley-VCHRiver2750-48672024-02-0131384610.1002/rvr2.79Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United StatesChristopher Craft0Shanze Li1O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University Bloomington Indiana USAState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research Beijing ChinaAbstract Soil organic carbon (C) sequestration and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) burial were measured in two floodplain wetlands' soils of the West Fork of the White River watershed (Indiana, United States) whose catchments differed in land use to better understand how land use practices affect wetland C and nutrient retention. The catchment of one floodplain, Upper West Fork, is dominated by row crop agriculture (61%) whereas the second catchment, Beanblossom Creek, is mostly forested (85%). Soils (0–30 cm) of the two floodplain wetlands had similar bulk density (1.23 g/cm3). Soil organic C and N were low in both floodplains but the percent organic C and N was two times greater (3.3% C, 0.22% N) in the agricultural floodplain than in the floodplain in the forested catchment (1.5% C, 0.14% N). Soil P was three times greater in the agricultural (1100 μg/g) than in the forested floodplain (350 μg/g). Recent soil accretion based on 137Cs which provides a historical record since 1964 (60 years), was two times greater in the agricultural floodplain (2.2 mm/year) than in the forested catchment (1.0 mm/year). Sediment deposition (2500 g/m2/year), C sequestration (90 g/m2/year), and N burial (7.5 g/m2/year) were three times greater in the agricultural floodplain and P burial was seven times greater (3.0 vs. 0.41 g/m2/year). Long‐term measurements (100 years) based on 210Pb did not show large differences in C sequestration and N burial between the two floodplains though soil accretion and sediment deposition were greater in the forested floodplain. We attribute these higher rates to greater erosion in the watershed before 1950 when the catchment had more agricultural land and before instruction on best management practices to reduce soil erosion. These findings confirm previously published studies that show that P enrichment and accumulation in floodplain soils represent legacy effects of agricultural land use in the catchment.https://doi.org/10.1002/rvr2.79carbon sequestrationland useorganic mattersoil accretionwetlands
spellingShingle Christopher Craft
Shanze Li
Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
River
carbon sequestration
land use
organic matter
soil accretion
wetlands
title Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
title_full Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
title_fullStr Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
title_full_unstemmed Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
title_short Short‐ and long‐term legacies of carbon sequestration, and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments, Indiana, United States
title_sort short and long term legacies of carbon sequestration and nutrient burial in floodplain wetlands of agricultural and forested catchments indiana united states
topic carbon sequestration
land use
organic matter
soil accretion
wetlands
url https://doi.org/10.1002/rvr2.79
work_keys_str_mv AT christophercraft shortandlongtermlegaciesofcarbonsequestrationandnutrientburialinfloodplainwetlandsofagriculturalandforestedcatchmentsindianaunitedstates
AT shanzeli shortandlongtermlegaciesofcarbonsequestrationandnutrientburialinfloodplainwetlandsofagriculturalandforestedcatchmentsindianaunitedstates