Objectives:

The general aim of the project is to evaluate the incidence of land use changes on C storage in agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems along climatic gradients through the determination of the soil potential for carbon storage, and the quantification of this C reservoir. The chosen approach intends to know the processes that regulate the capacity for C fixation and storage under different intensities of use, especially of stockbreeding activities. In particular, the specific objectives are:

1. To quantify the organic carbon content in pasture soil throughout land use and climatic gradients and to characterize the soil organic matter and its properties, including structural stability and microbial activity.

2. To quantify the C content stored in above- and belowground biomass in the different functional types of plants and microorganisms associated to different stages after abandonment.

3. To evaluate the relationship between organic matter and soil C dynamics and storage after the abandonment of pastures, and the variations in the functional groups of plants (herbaceous/woody, broadleaved/conifers) and of microorganisms (bacteria, endo/ectomycorrhizae).

4. To relate the hydrological characteristics and of soil organic matter with the type of land use in mountain agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems under the scenario of abandonment of agricultural areas, reforestation and land use change, through the C and N balance in integrated model basins.

5. To develop and adapt standardized cartographic methodologies in model areas on which to extrapolate the results at the regional and basin scales.

Partners :

Forestry and Technology Centre of Catalonia, CTFC (Solsona, Lleida)

Functional Ecology and Climate Change Group, Plant Ecology and Forest Botany Dept, CTFC

Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, Lleida University, UdL (Lleida)

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action, Generalitat de Catalunya