Soil Carbon Stocks and Fluxes - The Greenhouse Gas Balance of Italy - page 124

However, the respiration rates of the vineyard were lower compared to the
meadow. The average annual soil temperature at 5 cm depth was almost the same
in 2008 and 2009 (14.6 °C) leading to similar annual soil CO 2 fluxes: 8.6 and
8.8 Mg C ha − 1 y − 1 respectively. In 2010 there was a slight decrease of soil tem-
perature up to 12.5 °C with a soil CO 2 efflux of 8.6 Mg C ha − 1 y − 1 .
8.7 Conclusions
Looking at the SOC dynamics for croplands at the national level, recent stud-
ies indicate that the SOC pool is near to the equilibrium with an average loss of
about 0.2-0.5 Mg C ha − 1 y − 1 (Gardi and Sconosciuto 2007 ; Janssens et al. 2005 ;
Lugato et al. 2010 ; Morari et al. 2006 ). This loss of SOC is possibly attributable
to the intensification of agricultural practices in soils cultivated for thousands of
years (Gardi and Sconosciuto 2007 ; Morari et al. 2006 ) and could be reduced by
taking into account some of the different mitigation options such as reduced till-
age, improved management or the use of animal manure (Freibauer et al. 2004 ;
Smith et al. 2000a , b ; Triberti et al. 2008 ). Also, the modelling exercise performed
in Sardinia indicate as the SOC pool for cropland in the Mediterranean area is
decreasing as a consequence of climate change and the continuous exploitation of
soil for agricultural purpose. The losses could even increase as a consequence of
the increase in temperature, the soil CO 2 efflux being very sensitive to temperature
rather than other parameters, as suggested by the case study from Trentino Alto
Adige.
In conclusion, the assessment of the average SOC stock of the different crop-
land land uses, landscape position and climate regions could notably help when
assessing the impact of different agricultural practices and future stock change
evaluation.
References
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Coleman K, Jenkinson DS (1996) RothC-26.3. A model for the turnover of carbon in soil. In:
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