DIPLOMARBEIT Land use: consequences on soil organic carbon content – A case study from a farm in Upper Austria Jasmin Karer angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Naturwissenschaften (Mag.rer.nat) Wien, 2011 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 453 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Theoretische und Angewandte Geographie Betreuer: Dr. Stephan Glatzel photograph: Maria Karer, April 2011 Table of Content Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................7 Acronyms and Abbreviations........................................................................................................8 Executive summary......................................................................................................................9 Zusammenfassung.......................................................................................................................9 1.Introduction..............................................................................................................................12 1.2.Objectives of the study.....................................................................................................15 1.3.Issues for research...........................................................................................................17 1.4.Definitions.........................................................................................................................17 1.4.1.The carbon cycle...........................................................................................................17 1.4.2.The terrestrial carbon cycle...........................................................................................18 1.4.3.CO2 concentration in the atmosphere............................................................................18 1.4.4. Soil Carbon ..................................................................................................................19 1.4.5.Soil organic carbon (SOC) storage................................................................................21 1.4.6.Soil organic matter (SOM) stocks..................................................................................24 1.4.7.Humus...........................................................................................................................26 1.5.State of the art..................................................................................................................29 1.5.1.Soils and carbon cycle...................................................................................................29 1.5.2.SOC and climate change...............................................................................................30 1.5.3.Carbon sequestration in agroecosystems......................................................................30 1.6.Relevance to Kyoto Protocol............................................................................................35 1.7.Relevance in CO2 emission certificates............................................................................36 1.8.Significance of land use history........................................................................................36 2.Materials and Methods............................................................................................................38 2.1.Study area........................................................................................................................38 2.2.1.Land use history ...........................................................................................................40 2.2.2.Current situation............................................................................................................41 2.2.Data .................................................................................................................................41 2.2.3.Climate and weather conditions.....................................................................................41 2.3.Elevation...........................................................................................................................45 2.4.Geomorphological overview and geology.........................................................................45 2.5.Soil characteristics............................................................................................................45 2.6.Soil Samples....................................................................................................................46 2.7.Description of the parcels ................................................................................................47 2.7.1.YOUNG.G.....................................................................................................................47 2.7.2.FIELD............................................................................................................................50 2.7.3. OLD.G..........................................................................................................................52 2.7.4.FOREST........................................................................................................................54 2.8.Soil Sampling...................................................................................................................56 2.8.1.Introduction....................................................................................................................56 2.8.2.Sampling method...........................................................................................................57 Preparation............................................................................................................................57 Sampling...............................................................................................................................57 2.9.Statistical analyses...........................................................................................................58 2.9.1.Data Analyses................................................................................................................58 2.10.Methods..........................................................................................................................58 2.10.1.Water content..............................................................................................................58 2.10.2.Particle Size ................................................................................................................59 2.10.3.PH-value......................................................................................................................61 2.10.4.Organic carbon content...............................................................................................63 2.10.5.Soil bulk density...........................................................................................................64 2.10.6.Nitrogen (N).................................................................................................................64 3.Results ...................................................................................................................................65 3.1.Environmental parameters................................................................................................65 3.2.Water content...................................................................................................................66 3.3.Fine soil ...........................................................................................................................69 3.4.Distribution of fine soil ....................................................................................................73 3.5.Soil bulk density ...............................................................................................................73 3.6.PH-value contents............................................................................................................76 3.7.Total organic carbon ........................................................................................................78 3.8.Ammonium content ..........................................................................................................80 3.9.C/N ratio ..........................................................................................................................81 3.10.Common errors...............................................................................................................82 4.Discussion...............................................................................................................................82 4.1.Sources of uncertainty......................................................................................................89 5.Comparison with other studies................................................................................................90 6.Evaluation of carbon sequestration and CO2 capturing in study area....................................101 7.Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................104 8.References............................................................................................................................107 8.1.Internet............................................................................................................................111 9.Appendices............................................................................................................................113