Impact of Land-Use Change on Grassland Carbon Stocks: An Overview of the Literature

Abstract

Terrestrial vegetation and soils in the terrestrial biosphere play an active role in shaping the environmental systems of the Earth. An improved understanding of changes in carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems is very important for assessing the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2concentration and climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accurately predicting terrestrial carbon (C) storage requires understanding the stock and storage potential of C, because it helps us understand how ecosystems would respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances under different management strategies. Grasslands are important for global carbon balance both for their large area and significant sink or source capacities, depending on the factors of climatic and land-use. Land-use change is often associated with changes in land cover and carbon (C) stocks. Land-use and land cover strongly influence carbon (C) storage and distribution within the grassland ecosystems.