Journal article
Aboveground carbon dynamics following plantation thinning to establish a silvopastoral system in subtropical Australia
Agroforestry Systems, Vol.100(8), pp.1-16
2026
Abstract
Understanding the impact of plantation thinning for silvopastoral systems (SPS) on carbon storage is crucial for the development of grazing systems to integrate production and carbon goals. This study compared aboveground carbon (AGC) among a SPS established through thinning the Corymbia hybrid plantation in 2021, an open pasture (OP), a timber plantation (TP), and an unthinned plantation (UP) in subtropical Australia. Thinning had a positive effect on tree diameter and AGC. Over 3.2 years following thinning, SPS had the highest diameter (26.5 ± 0.9 cm), which was 21.0% higher than TP and 29.3% larger than UP. Correspondingly, SPS increased annual diameter increment by 87% and 216% compared to TP and UP, respectively. By 2025, SPS had 77% higher tree-level AGC than UP, although its stand-level AGC (24.63 Mg C ha−1) remained 56% lower than UP (55.66 Mg C ha−1). Annual tree-level AGC increment in SPS was 138% higher than in TP and 280% higher than in UP, whereas annual stand-level AGC increment did not differ significantly among these treatments. SPS exhibited the highest ground vegetation carbon (1.22–1.61 Mg C ha−1) but the lowest tree litter carbon (1.37–1.45 Mg C ha−1) among tree-based treatments, while supporting a ground vegetation carbon level comparable to OP. These findings indicate that SPS can enhance AGC relative to OP, while promoting tree growth and increasing tree-level AGC and ground vegetation carbon compared to TP and UP. Thinning plantations for SPS therefore might provide a promising strategy to enhance AGC storage in subtropical Australia.
Details
- Title
- Aboveground carbon dynamics following plantation thinning to establish a silvopastoral system in subtropical Australia
- Authors
- Tien Chinh Nguyen (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastDavid J. Lee - University of the Sunshine CoastHelen F. Nahrung - University of the Sunshine CoastTeresa J. Eyre - Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and InnovationNahuel A. Pachas - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Agroforestry Systems, Vol.100(8), pp.1-16
- Publisher
- Springer Dordrecht
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10457-026-01679-1
- ISSN
- 1572-9680
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
- Grant note
- USCRS2206-LEE / University of the Sunshine Coast (https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001796). This work was supported by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI)
- Organisation Unit
- Forest Industries Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991261779102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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