Understanding and forecasting soil carbon stabilization across land uses in the Brazilian cerrado

• Grant number: 23/18299-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri
• Grantee: Sarah Tenelli
• Supervisor: Maria Francesca Cotrufo
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Colorado State University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/07665-7 - Integrated crop-livestock system as a strategy to store and stabilize soil carbon in Brazilian agriculture, BP.PD

Abstract

Accurate forecasting of large-scale soil organic carbon (C) dynamics in the context of global climate and land use changes for the Brazilian Cerrado region is crucial given the importance of this region for the Brazilian economy and agriculture. The dynamics of organic C in soil can be better understood and predicted by separating soil organic matter into its particulate (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) components, as they differ for mechanisms of formation and stabilization, and thus their response and vulnerability to climate and land use change. Research on how land use systems influence soil C stabilization via the formation of POM or MAOM pools remains limited in the Cerrado region. This research proposal aims to investigate the long-term impact of land use intensification on soil C stabilization in the Cerrado biome. Here we present a workplan for the development of a research internship abroad in Prof. Cotrufo's Soil Innovation Laboratory (https://agsci.colostate.edu/soilinnovationlab/) at Colorado State University (CSU), a world-renowned research group on soil organic matter dynamics. The study is divided into two work packages (WP) focused on understanding and predicting soil C dynamics at the biome-scale, and its long-term implications. The objectives of WP I include predicting the share of soil C in the POM and MAOM fractions for a larger Cerrado dataset, and identifying the drivers influencing soil C storage using structural equation modeling, and WP II consists of forecasting the long-term effects of land use systems on soil C stabilization using the MEMS 2.0 model. This internship abroad will combine the expertise at ESALQ/USP on soil C storage in tropical climate with the foreign group's expertise on soil organic matter dynamics and modeling in temperate climate to support effective land-based solutions to increase soil C sequestration in Brazil.