Effect of agriculture and of clear-cut forest harvest on landscape-scale soil organic carbon storage in Saskatchewan

Abstract

The development of sound management approaches to reduce soil organic carbon (SOC) losses presupposes that we thoroughly understand the sources of these losses. We used a landscape-scale research design to estimate human-induced SOC losses by comparing SOC storage in undisturbed landscapes with comparable landscapes disturbed by clear-cutting of forests in the Mixedwood/Gray Luvisolic zone of central Saskatchewan and by agricultural activity in the Black soil zone. A 14.0% decrease in soil organic carbon storage in the upper 45 cm of the soil (from 57.1 Mg ha−1 in mature Mixedwood sites to 49.1 Mg ha−1 in clear-cut landscapes) occurred due to clear cutting at the research sites in the Mixedwood forest. The dominant soil type at these sites, Gray Luvisolic soils developed in glacial till, experienced a 11% loss in SOC storage; higher losses (36% loss) occurred from sandy Brunisolic inclusions in the sites. Changes in SOC storage at the research sites in the Black soil zone landscapes varied with texture and parent material: sandy glacio-fluvial landscapes experienced slight gains of SOC (from 54.1 to 60.1 Mg ha−1); silt and clay glacio-lacustrine landscapes experienced a 15.3% decrease in SOC (from 145.2 to 122.9 Mg ha−1); and loamy glacial till landscapes underwent a major decrease in SOC storage (from 116.2 to 75.2 Mg ha−1) Our results indicate that attempts to increase SOC storage in Saskatchewan soils should concentrate on agricultural landscapes, especially those dominated by glacial till. Key words: Landscape, soil organic carbon, Chernozemic, Mollisol