Soil CO 2 concentration, efflux, and partitioning in a recently afforested grassland

Relatively few studies have documented the impacts of afforestation, particularly production forestry, on belowground carbon dioxide (CO2) effluxes to the atmosphere. We evaluated the changes in the soil CO2 efflux—a proxy for soil respiration (Rs)—for three years following a native grassland conversion to eucalypt plantations in southern Brazil where minimum tillage during site preparation created two distinct soil zones, within planting row (W) and between-row (B). We used root-exclusion and carbon (C)- isotopic approaches to distinguish Rs components (heterotrophic-Rh and autotrophic-Ra respirations), and a CO2 profile tube (1-m deep) to determine the concentration ([CO2]) and isotopic C signature of soil CO2 (δ13[CO2]). The soil CO2 efflux in the afforested site averaged 0.37 g CO2 m−2 h−1, which was 56% lower than the soil CO2 efflux in the grassland. The δ13CO2 in the afforested site ranged from − 14.1‰ to − 29.4‰, indicating a greater contribution of eucalypt-derived respiration (both Rh and Ra) over time. Higher soil CO2 efflux and lower [CO2] were observed in W than B, indicating that soil preparation creates two distinct soil functional zones with respect to C cycling. The [CO2] and δ13[CO2] decreased in both zonal positions with eucalypt stand development. Although the equilibrium in C fluxes and pools across multiple rotations is needed to fully account for the feedback of eucalypt planted forests to climate change, we provide quantitative information on soil CO2 dynamics after afforestation and show how soil preparation can leverage the feedback of planted forests to climate change.