Carbon Dynamics and Management in Grassland Ecosystems

Grassland ecosystems represent a significant component of terrestrial carbon pools, with the majority of their carbon stored in soil organic matter rather than in above-ground biomass. Carbon enters grassland soils through photosynthetic capture by plants, allocation to roots and litter, and subsequent incorporation into soil organic carbon pools via microbial processing. The balance of carbon inputs and outputs is governed by factors such as climate, soil texture, nutrient availability and land management practices. Management interventions—ranging from grazing intensity, fertiliser application and sward composition to tillage and reseeding regimes—can either enhance soil carbon sequestration or accelerate its loss. Optimising grassland carbon storage entails trade-offs between agricultural productivity, greenhouse-gas emissions and ecosystem service provision. By tailoring practices to soil type and landscape context—such as encouraging deep-rooting species in coarse soils, extending reseeding intervals where appropriate, and adopting moderate grazing—managers can bolster soil carbon stocks while maintaining sward health. Improved monitoring and modelling of carbon fluxes at depth and across complex topographies are crucial to scale findings from plot experiments to regional and global forecasts. This integrated perspective underpins the global importance of grassland management in climate mitigation strategies and in sustaining livelihoods dependent on extensive grazing systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Carbon Dynamics and Management in Grassland Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in carbon dynamics and management in grassland ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Soil organic carbon (SOC): The portion of soil organic matter composed of decomposed plant and microbial residues, serving as the main long-term carbon reservoir in grasslands.

Net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB): The net change in carbon stocks of an ecosystem, accounting for all inputs (photosynthesis, litterfall) and outputs (respiration, leaching, harvest removals).

Carbon saturation: The point at which soil mineral fractions bind as much organic carbon as their physical and chemical properties allow, limiting further sequestration without changes to management or soil structure.

Sward: A continuous expanse of grass and herbaceous plants forming the vegetative cover of a grassland field.

Stratified sampling: A survey design in which a landscape is partitioned into homogeneous strata (e.g. slope classes) to improve the efficiency and representativeness of measurements across spatial variability.

References

1. The potential to increase grassland soil C stocks by extending reseeding intervals is dependent on soil texture and depth. Journal of Environmental Management (2023).
2. Defying the flat-Earth myth: Soil organic carbon monitoring in topographically complex temperate pasture landscapes. Catena (2024).
3. Management of Grazed Landscapes to Increase Soil Carbon Stocks in Temperate, Dryland Grasslands. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (2020).