Abstract
Soil and vegetation were evaluated along IH-35 within Bexar County for carbon content. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the vegetative composition and carbon sequestration potential of vegetation along IH-35. Three 20 m transects were placed at each site and percent vegetative cover was estimated and above ground plant biomass and soil was collected from three 0.25 m2 subplots along each transect. Plant and soil samples were analyzed for carbon content using the loss-on-ignition method. Two non-native grasses, bermudagrass and King Ranch bluestem, were the dominant cover. Bermudagrass was more efficient in absorbing CO2 compared to King Ranch bluestem. The top 10 cm of soil in all samples contained more organic carbon than the lower 10 cm. Collection of field data has been completed and the soil and plant carbon content is being analyzed with the final results presented at the conference.
Highlights
Roadway corridors are anthropogenic ecosystems that are typically seeded or sodded with fast-growing, rhizomatous non-native grasses
The United States Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that grasses make up 44% or 900,000 ha of the right-of-ways [1]
Emissions of CO2 generated from combustion of fossil fuel comprises roughly 80 percent of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change
Summary
Roadway corridors are anthropogenic ecosystems that are typically seeded or sodded with fast-growing, rhizomatous non-native grasses. The United States Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that grasses make up 44% or 900,000 ha of the right-of-ways [1]. There is a growing interest in the potential for roadside vegetation and soils to capture and store carbon. There are greater than 482,800 km of roadways and 23.8 million registered motor vehicles in Texas, and 5494 km of highway and 1.5 million registered vehicles in Bexar County [3]. A Florida Department of Transportation study valued carbon capture and storage at $157-363 million along highways using a conservative price for carbon [5]. Other studies reported that high vegetation species and diversity in grasslands resulted in greater carbon sequestration than low diversity grasslands [6, 7]
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