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Carbon sequestration potential of five tree species in a 25-year-old temperate tree-based intercropping system in southern Ontario, Canada

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Abstract

Carbon (C) sequestration potential was quantified for five tree species, commonly used in tree-based intercropping (TBI) and for conventional agricultural systems in southern Ontario, Canada. In the 25-year-old TBI system, hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × Populus nigra clone DN-177), Norway spruce (Picae abies), red oak (Quercus rubra), black walnut (Juglans nigra), and white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) were intercropped with soybean (Glycine max). In the conventional agricultural system, soybean was grown as a sole crop. Above- and belowground tree C Content, soil organic C, soil respiration, litterfall and litter decomposition were quantified for each tree species in each system. Total C pools for hybrid poplar, white cedar, red oak, black walnut, Norway spruce and a soybean sole-cropping system were 113.4, 99.4, 99.2, 91.5, 91.3, and 71.1 t C ha−1, respectively at a tree density of 111 trees ha−1, including mean tree C content and soil organic C stocks. Net C flux for hybrid poplar, white cedar, red oak, black walnut, Norway spruce and soybean sole-crop were 2.1, 1.4, 0.8, 1.8, 1.6 and −1.2 t C ha−1 year−1, respectively. Results presented suggest greater atmospheric CO2 sequestration potential for all five tree species when compared to a conventional agricultural system.

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Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we gratefully acknowledge the funding received to conduct this study through the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Program (AGGP) administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). We would also like to thank the faculty, staff and students at the Agroforestry Research Station. Special thanks to Idris Mohammed from the University of Guelph and Albérique de la Teyssonnière from AgroParisTech during field and lab work. Authors also thank Kira Borden from the University of Toronto for providing bulk density data and to Dr. Xiao-Bang Peng, visiting scientist from the ShangLuo University, China for providing soybean crop biomass data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Amy Wotherspoon, Naresh V. Thevathasan, Andrew M. Gordon & R. Paul Voroney

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  1. Amy Wotherspoon
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  2. Naresh V. Thevathasan
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  3. Andrew M. Gordon
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  4. R. Paul Voroney
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Correspondence to Amy Wotherspoon.

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Wotherspoon, A., Thevathasan, N.V., Gordon, A.M. et al. Carbon sequestration potential of five tree species in a 25-year-old temperate tree-based intercropping system in southern Ontario, Canada. Agroforest Syst 88, 631–643 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9719-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9719-0

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