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Spatial Analyses of Pedosphere Carbon Stock and Sequestration Potential in Louisiana's Watersheds Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2010 Spatial analyses of pedosphere carbon stock and sequestration potential in Louisiana's watersheds Biao Zhong Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Zhong, Biao, "Spatial analyses of pedosphere carbon stock and sequestration potential in Louisiana's watersheds" (2010). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3555. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3555 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. SPATIAL ANALYSES OF PEDOSPHERE CARBON STOCK AND SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL IN LOUISIANA’S WATERSHEDS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The School of Renewable Natural Resources By Biao Zhong B.S., Beijing Forestry University, 1998 M.S., Beijing Forestry University, 2001 May, 2010 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my father, mother, elder sister, and lifetime friends. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people contributed to the successful completion of this project. I am very grateful to my major professor, Dr. Jun Xu, for his insightful guidance and support to my project, giving me an opportunity to study at LSU. I am grateful to my committee members, Dr. Andrew Nyman, Dr. Nina Lam, and Dr. Jim Wang, for serving on my committee and giving me support during my project. Special thanks awarded to Dr. Andrew Nyman for his invaluable review and helpful discussion. This research was supported through a competitive grant from Louisiana Board of Regents. I appreciate my lab and office mates and other friends in USA and China, for encouraging me during my study. Special thanks go to Drs. Jo Smith and Pete Smith from the University of Aberdeen, UK, for their invaluable and patient help during the RothC modeling. I am grateful to Mr. Kevin Coleman from UK Rothamsted Research and Ms. Cindy Keough from Colorado State University for supporting the modeling part of my research on RothC and Century models. I thank Mr. Farrell Jones, Associate Director of CADGIS, for his support on GIS analysis. Special thanks go to the Center for Computation & Technology of LSU for their efficient support. I would like to extend my gratitude to the faculty and staff of the School of Renewable Natural Resources in LSU for their teaching and serving, especially to Dr. Allen Rutherford, Professor and Director; Dr. Paul Y. Burns, Professor Emeritus and former Director; Ms. Nedra M. Ghoram, Assistant to the Director; Dr. Cornelis F. de- Hoop, Associate Professor; and Dr. Michael Kaller, Assistant Professor. I am deeply grateful to my family: my father, mother, and sister for encouraging and continually supporting me. iii TABLE of CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................... 5 2.1 Global Climate Change .................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Terrestrial Carbon Stocks and Cycles ............................................................................... 7 2.3 SOC Distribution across Landscape ................................................................................. 9 2.4 SOC Modeling at the Landscape Level .......................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 3 SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STORAGE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION ACROSS LOUISIANA LANDSCAPE .................................................................................... 15 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 15 3.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 16 3.2.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................... 16 3.2.2 Data Sources ............................................................................................................ 17 3.2.3 Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Analysis ....................................................................... 18 3.2.4 Spatial Analysis ....................................................................................................... 20 3.3 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................... 20 3.3.1 SOC Storage ............................................................................................................ 20 3.3.2 SOC Spatial Distribution.......................................................................................... 22 3.3.3 SOC Storage in Louisiana Land Use Types .............................................................. 22 3.3.4 Relationship between Land Use Types and SOC ...................................................... 27 3.3.5 Relationship between SOC Estimation from STATSGO and Sampling Investigation 28 3.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4 RELATIONSHIPS OF SOIL ORGANIC CARBON AND TOPOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN WATERSHEDS ................................................................................................ 33 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 35 4.2.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................... 35 4.2.2 Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon ........................................................................... 36 4.2.3 Watershed Characterization Analysis........................................................................ 37 4.2.4 Terrain and Spatial Analysis ..................................................................................... 38 4.2.5 Statistics Analysis .................................................................................................... 38 4.3 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................... 40 4.3.1 SOC Storage and Spatial Distribution in Louisiana Watersheds and Basins .............. 40 4.3.2 Drainage Density, Slope, and Elevation Trends in Louisiana Watersheds and Basins 41 4.3.3 Relationships among SOC, Topographic, and Watershed Characteristics in Louisiana Watersheds and Basins ..................................................................................................... 43 4.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 52 iv CHAPTER 5 POTENTIAL SOIL ORGANIC CARBON CHANGES IN LOUISIANA ............ 57 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 57 5.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 59 5.2.1. Study Area Conditions ............................................................................................ 59 5.2.2. Soil Carbon Estimation across Landscape at the Watershed Scale ........................... 61 5.2.3. Modeling SOC Changes .......................................................................................... 63 5.2.4. Statistical Analyses ................................................................................................. 69 5.3 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................... 70 5.3.1 Predicted Climate Change Patterns in Louisiana ...................................................... 70 5.3.2 Louisiana SOC Changes under Three IPCC Emissions Scenarios ............................. 78 5.3.3 Spatial Trends and Statistical Testing of SOC Changes across Different Land Use Types ................................................................................................................................ 82 5.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 6 RISK OF INUNDATION TO LOUISIANA COASTAL AREAS, WETLANDS, SOIL ORGANIC CARBON STORAGE, AND NITROGEN CONTENTS .............................. 94 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 94 6.2 Methods
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