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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #136059
Title: SIMULATED RANGELAND PRODUCTION AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION

Author
item Hanson, Jonathan
item Shaffer, Marvin
item Ahuja, Lajpat

Submitted to: Management of Carbon Sequestration in Soil
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/20/2000
Publication Date: 11/20/2000
Citation: Hanson, J.D., M.J. Shaffer, and L.R. Ahuja. Simulating Rangeland Production and Carbon Sequestration. pgs. 345-370 IN: Follett, Kimble and Lal (eds.), The Potential of U.S. Grazing Lands to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect. 2000. (Invited Book Chapter_

Interpretive Summary: Simulation modeling is the only tool available to describe and predict the potential impact of global climate change on rangeland productivity. Models only have the capability to simulate that for which they were designed and they are only as good as the theoretical philosophies upon which they were built. The importance of understanding soil hydrology and nutrient components is described in this paper as they relate to plant growth and grazing behavior models. Through the use of simulation development and application, the relationship between natural resource sustainability and soil organic matter stability is demonstrated. The chapter also notes the deficiency of information regarding the impact of human activities on natural resource systems.

Technical Abstract: Early range research used soil survey information to classify rangeland sites and to plan their management. Interactions of abiotic factors on parent material and on slope thus delineated basic ecological and physiological processes occurring in plant communities. More recent research approaches have used traditional soil physics, plant physiology, and simulation models to describe the fundamental processes controlling rangeland production. This chapter describes various aspects of rangeland soil and hydrology and soil nutrients and shows how they work to assist in the development and implementation of plant growth and grazing behavior models. The importance of soil organic matter and human activities are also discussed. Finally, a detailed examination of the SPUR2 and OMNI models is presented in the context of simulating carbon sequestration in rangelands.