Publications des scientifiques de l'IRD

Mello F. F. C., Cerri C. E. P., Davies C. A., Holbrook N. M., Paustian K., Maia S. M. F., Galdos M. V., Bernoux Martial, Cerri C. C. (2014). Payback time for soil carbon and sugar-cane ethanol. Nature Climate Change, 4 (7), p. 605-609. ISSN 1758-678X.

Titre du document
Payback time for soil carbon and sugar-cane ethanol
Année de publication
2014
Type de document
Article référencé dans le Web of Science WOS:000338837400027
Auteurs
Mello F. F. C., Cerri C. E. P., Davies C. A., Holbrook N. M., Paustian K., Maia S. M. F., Galdos M. V., Bernoux Martial, Cerri C. C.
Source
Nature Climate Change, 2014, 4 (7), p. 605-609 ISSN 1758-678X
Thee effects of land-use change (LUC) on soil carbon (C) balance has to be taken into account in calculating the CO2 savings attributed to bioenergy crops(1-3). There have been few direct fieldmeasurements that quantify thee effects of LUC on soil C for the most common land-use transitions into sugar cane in Brazil, the world's largest producer(1-3). We quantified the C balance for LUC as a net loss (carbon debt) or net gain (carbon credit) in soil C for sugar-cane expansion in Brazil. We sampled 135 field sites to 1 m depth, representing three major LUC scenarios. Our results demonstrate that soil C stocks decrease following LUC from native vegetation and pastures, and increase where cropland is converted to sugar cane. The payback time for the soil C debt was eight years for native vegetation and two to three years for pastures. With an increasing need for biofuels and the potential for Brazil to help meet global demand(4), our results will be invaluable for guiding expansion policies of sugar-cane production towards greater sustainability.
Plan de classement
Sciences du milieu [021] ; Pédologie [068] ; Sciences du monde végétal [076]
Description Géographique
BRESIL
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010062356]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010062356
Contact