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Soil carbon benefits through reforestation in sub-tropical and tropical Australia
Conference presentation

Soil carbon benefits through reforestation in sub-tropical and tropical Australia

Tim E Smith
USC Research Conference, 2013 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 01-Jul-2013–05-Jul-2013)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
url
https://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Forestry Sciences soil carbon reforestation
The mitigation of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide is being addressed through a number of approaches, one of which is carbon farming. Reforestation is one of the options to enable positive changes in soil carbon through deposition of less labile carbon into soil carbon pools. However the potential of soil carbon change through reforestation in tropical and sub-tropical Australia is largely unknown. A formidable collaboration of scientists from QDAFF, USC, UQ, CDU and DSITIA formed to address this problem with funding from the DAFF Carbon Farming Initiative-Filling the Research Gap Program. A three year project is assessing soil carbon change through soil sampling and analysis, and measuring biomass across hardwood, softwood, savannah and rainforest ecosystems in sub-tropical and tropical Australia to develop relationships of changes in soil carbon pools over time following reforestation of agricultural land. The objective of the research is to measure soil carbon stocks and pools (including stable carbon in the form of char carbon) in paired sites, with the same soil type, comparing planted forests vs adjoining agricultural or native forest systems. The selection of paired comparison sites is based on those being on the same soil type and having similar site history prior to reforestation. The planted forest types being assessed are dry sclerophyll species (Eucalypt and Corymbia species), rainforest species, exotic pine, and savannah species. The primary study areas are the Burnett region of Queensland to Northern NSW, Wet Tropics Bio-region of North Queensland, the coastal lowlands of SE Queensland and the Douglas Daly region of the Northern Territory. The results will be used to calibrate models of soil carbon accumulation in agroforestry and forestry systems to make them more representative of sub-tropical and tropical regions.

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