Carbon stocks in riparian buffer systems at sites differing in soil texture, vegetation type and age compared to adjacent agricultural fields in southern Ontario, Canada

Abstract In any given watershed, riparian buffer systems (RBSs) can influence terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration and potentially enhance terrestrial C sinks. This study looked at the effects of soil texture, vegetation type and age on C stock sequestration in eight RBSs located within the Grand River Watershed (GRW), southern Ontario, Canada and compared the C stock with adjacent agricultural fields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks on an equivalent mass basis were significantly higher (p