This study builds on current research focused on deep soil carbon storage following reforestation in the Southern Piedmont region of the southeastern United States. Globally, soil contains more carbon than that stored in all land vegetation. However, most studies trying to connect carbon storage with changes in land use have ignored soil deeper than one meter. The investigators hypothesize that the widespread trends of reforestation in this region over the last century have led to deep carbon storage that depends intimately on the chemical behavior of soil iron. To test this hypothesis, specialized carbon measurements (radiocarbon dating) will be made to a depth of two meters in soils that have been either reforested or not reforested over the last century. The carbon measurements will be interpreted alongside results of new analyses of soil iron to provide insights on changes in deep soil carbon storage following reforestation.
In the Southern Piedmont, reforested land is by far the dominant land use. This project will improve regional management of forests by showing how reforestation affects the storage of deep soil carbon. The project will also enhance an interdisciplinary collaborations among Duke University, researchers in the International Soil Carbon Network and the German GeoForschungsZentrum program. All project data will be made freely available online as part of a widely disseminated soil carbon database for use by other researchers. Results will also be presented to diverse audiences at various scientific meetings, in peer-reviewed publications, and at regional public hearings on land use.
