@article{fdi:010084213,
  title = {{O}n the impact of grassland management on soil carbon stocks : a worldwide meta-analysis},
  author = {{P}hukubye, {K}. and {M}utema, {M}. and {B}uthelezi, {N}. and {M}uchaonyerwa, {P}. and {C}erri, {C}. and {C}haplot, {V}incent},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{G}rasslands occupy 70% of whole agricultural land and hold significant amounts of carbon, a key element in the regulation of {E}arth's soils fertility, biomass production and climate. {P}revious work has shown that carbon stocks of grassland soils have been largely depleted worldwide due to missuse or mismanagement but that shifts in management could also potentially increase soil carbon stocks and mitigate against the degradation of natural ecosystems. {H}owever, the existing literature points to large discrepancies in the impact of grassland management practices on soil carbon, which the present study investigated. {H}ere we considered 235 experimental sites in 18 countries across the world where shifts in grassland management involved different grazing strategies (free, {F} vs controlled, {C}; high, {H} vs low, {L} density grazers), grazers exclusion ({E}), mowing ({M}) and burning ({B}). {T}he best performing practice was controlled grazing with high density of grazers ({CHG}) with an average soil organic carbon content ({SOCC}) increase of 21% and with 100% of the studies pointing to a {SOCC} increase. {T}his was followed by {E} (14.9%; 60%) and {FLG} (13.3%; 80%). {O}n average, burning grasslands, decreases {SOCC} by 9.3% but 31% of the studies pointed to an increase, thus indicating discrepancies in the impact of grassland management. {CLG} and mowing did not significantly impact {SOCC}. {T}hese results also indicated that {B} decreased {SOCC} the most under moist to humid climates (-10.9% vs -1.7% under arid to semi-arid), while that {E} was only beneficial in arid to semi-arid grasslands. {A}doption of rotational high-intensity grazing in place of free grazing grasslands, should be seriously considered by policy and decision makers to mitigate against climate change while fostering economic and social development.},
  keywords = {{S}oil organic carbon ; {R}ehabilitation ; {G}razing ; {M}ultiple soil classes ; {M}eta-analysis},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}eoderma {R}egional},
  volume = {28},
  numero = {},
  pages = {e00479 [11 p.]},
  ISSN = {2352-0094},
  year = {2022},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.geodrs.2021.e00479},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084213},
}