Effect of grassland management on soil carbon sequestration in Rondônia and Mato Grosso states, Brazil

Grassland management affects soil organic carbon (SOC) content and a variety of management options have been proposed to sequester carbon. However, studies conducted in Brazilian pastures have shown divergent responses for the SOC depending on management practices. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of management on SOC stocks in grasslands of the Brazilian states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso, and to derive region-specific factors for soil C stock change associated with different management conditions. Compared to SOC stocks in native vegetation, degraded grassland management decreased SOC by a factor of 0.91 ± 0.14, nominal grassland management reduced SOC stock for Oxisols by a relatively small factor of 0.99 ± 0.08, whereas, SOC storage increased by a factor of 1.24 ± 0.07 with nominal management for other soil types. Improved grassland management on Oxisols increased SOC storage by 1.19 ± 0.07, relative to native stocks, but there were insufficient data to evaluate the impact of improved grassland management for other soil types. Using these results, we also evaluated the potential for grassland management to sequester or emit C to the atmosphere, and found that degraded grassland management decreased stocks by about 0.27–0.28 Mg C ha− 1 yr− 1; nominal management on Oxisols decreased C at a rate of 0.03 Mg C ha− 1 yr− 1, while nominal management on others soil types and improved management on Oxisols increased stocks by 0.72 Mg C ha− 1 yr− 1 and 0.61 Mg C ha− 1 yr− 1, respectively. Therefore, when well managed or improved, grasslands in Rondônia and Mato Grosso states have the potential to sequester C.