Functional Links between Biomass Production and Decomposition of Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) Grass in Three Australian Soils

Author(s)
Tessema, Bezaye
Wilson, Brian
Daniel, Heiko
Kristiansen, Paul
Baldock, Jeff A
Publication Date
2022-03-15
Abstract
<p>Plant roots are primary factors to contribute to surface and deep soil carbon sequestration (SCS). Perennial grasses like vetiver produce large and deep root system and are likely to contribute significantly to soil carbon. However, we have limited knowledge on how root and shoot decomposition differ and their contribution to SCS. This study examined biomass production and relative decomposition of vetiver which was grown under glasshouse conditions. Subsequently the biomass incubated for 206 days, and the gas analysed using ANCA-GSL. The results confirmed large shoot and root production potential of 161 and 107 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup> (fresh) and 67.7 and 52.5 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup> (dry) biomass, respectively with 1:1.43 (fresh) and 1:1.25 (dry) production ratio. Vetiver roots decomposed more rapidly in the clay soil (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared with the shoots, which could be attributed to the lower C:N ratio of roots than the shoots. The large root biomass produced does indeed contribute more to the soil carbon accumulation and the faster root decomposition is crucial in releasing the carbon in the root exudates and would also speed up its contribution to stable SOM. Hence, planting vetiver and similar tropical perennial grasses on degraded and less fertile soils could be a good strategy to rehabilitate degraded soils and for SCS.</p>
Citation
Plants, 11(6), p. 1-15
ISSN
2223-7747
Pubmed ID
35336660
Link
Publisher
MDPI AG
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Title
Functional Links between Biomass Production and Decomposition of Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) Grass in Three Australian Soils
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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