Award details

Maximising carbon retention in soils

Reference	BBS/E/C/00005214
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Philip Murray
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Angela Karp
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	1,469,688
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2012
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	59 months

Abstract

This project is part of the Cropping Carbon Institute Strategic Programme that aims to build a whole systems understanding of carbon allocation both above- and below-ground to provide the knowledge for achieving an optimal balance between harvestable and sequestered carbon in perennial cropping systems. This project aims to establish how different crop types influence the quantity and quality of carbon inputs into soils, how these inputs turn-over and how these processes are affected by environment and even crop genotype. There are 4 components (Work Packages -WP) to the project: 1. We will build on strong research in carbon cycling in plant-soil interactions to assess the potential for carbon storage beneath the three perennials (willow, Miscanthus and pasture grass). We will develop methods for quantifying root biomass (WP2.1). 2. We will quantify total carbon and use NIRS to explore gross changes in soil carbon content and mass spectrometric (GC-MS, HPLC) techniques to determine and quantify the different organic components of labile and stable soil organic matter (SOM) and relate this to the results of WP1 on the metabolome of different plant compartments in willow and pasture grass (WP2.2). 3. Our close links with IBERS will also allow us to determine the effects of grass rooting morphology on plant carbon delivery and stability in soil, whilst access to Miscanthus genetic lines will allow us to distinguish between plant carbon turnover in soil and turnover of existing soil organic carbon (SOC) using natural abundance 13C-enrichment (WP2.3). 4. We will exploit in vivo and in vitro experimental approaches and cutting-edge biogeochemical applications to specifically determine: (i) the fate of plant carbon inputs to the SOM pool;(ii) the effects of fresh plant carbon inputs on residual SOM; and, (iii) differences in SOM turnover rates under changing land use (WP2.4).

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Bioenergy, Crop Science, Plant Science, Soil Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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