Modeling Regional Carbon Dynamics and Soil Erosion in Disturbed and Rehabilitated Ecosystems as Affected by Land Use and Climate

Abstract

The quantification of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling inecosystems is important for (a) understanding changes inecosystem structure and function with changes in land use, (b)determining the sustainability of ecosystems, and (c) balancingthe global C budget as it relates to global climate change.A meso-scale study was conducted to determine regional effectsof climate change on C and N cycling within disturbedecosystems. Objectives of the research were to quantify (a)sediment yield, (b) current C storage in vegetation and soils,and (c) soil C efflux from both abandoned and rehabilitatedcoal surface-mined lands in Ohio. A dynamic model was developedto simulate sediment yield, grassland production, and C and Ncycling on surface-mined lands. Evaluation of plant productionand soil erosion submodels with data sets from surface-minedlands in the mid-western U.S. resulted in r2 values of 0.99 and0.97, respectively. Depending on the initial values of soil organic carbon (SOC),model simulations estimated that unvegetated surface-mined landsin Ohio yield approximately 441,325 Mg yr-1 of sediment andemit between 2,000–20,000 Mg yr-1 of C to the atmosphere fromdecomposition of SOC. While rehabilitated lands had a higher Cefflux rate than barren lands, a positive C sequestration rateof 18.4 Mg km-2 yr -1 was estimated as a result oforganic matter additions. This sequestion rate increasedconsiderably under projected climate change scenarios, while itdecreased when simulated rehabilitated grasslands were harvestedfor hay. Changes in land use and cover can cause surface-minedlands to be either a net sink or source for C. Successful rehabilitation of mined lands can decrease erosion and promotesoil C sequestration, while at the same time providingadditional lands for the management of natural resources.