IFEVA   02662
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES FISIOLOGICAS Y ECOLOGICAS VINCULADAS A LA AGRICULTURA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Grazing increases below-ground biomass and net primary production in a temperate grassland
Autor/es:
LOPEZ-MÁRSICO, L.; ALTESOR, A.; OYARZABAL, M.; BALDASSINI, P.; PARUELO, J.M.
Revista:
PLANT AND SOIL
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2015 vol. 392 p. 155 - 162
ISSN:
0032-079X
Resumen:
Background and aims. Grazing can affect the stock and flow of C between above and below-ground vegetation layers. Components of below-ground stratum are one of the less studied. The goals of this research were: 1) to characterize and estimate the vertical distribution of below-ground biomass in grazed and ungrazed areas during a growing season, and 2) to evaluate grazing effects on below-ground net primary production (BNPP).MethodsBelow-ground biomass was cored four times to 100 cm depth during a growing season on three paired grazed-ungrazed areas in South-central Uruguayan grasslands. BNPP was estimated using both field data and CENTURY model.ResultsOn average, below-ground biomass was higher in grazed (1417 gm2) than in ungrazed areas (945 gm2) and showed a marked reduction in relation with soil depth. Turnover rates were 0.40 and 0.37 years1 in grazed and ungrazed areas respectively. Field data and CENTURY simulation showed higher BNPP in grazed areas (1.86; 0.77 gm2 days1 respectively) than in ungrazed areas (1.07; 0.67 gm2 days1 respectively). Conclusions. Grazed areas showed higher below-ground biomass, BNPP and turnover that ungrazed areas. Grazing has an important role in regulating both stock and dynamics of C in grassland ecosystems.