Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics on a
post-agricultural Chronosequence

Chris Fuller, Steve Hamburg, and Matt Vadeboncoeur

 

The goal of my research and the topic of my senior thesis are to gain a better understanding of the soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics of three second growth forests regrowing on abandoned agricultural fields. Specifically to answer the questions:

• Are the soils of the northern hardwood successional forests acting as a sink or source of atmospheric carbon?
• At what rate are the stocks of these carbon depleted agricultural soils changing?

This study will analyze soil and forest floor samples collected in 1980, 1992, and 2005 to assess the sequestration rates within two mowed fields, three regrowing forests, and a multi-aged woodlot. This 25-year resampling sequence is short-term relative to the time scales at which , but unprecedented. These sites are located within a two square kilometer area in Campton, New Hampshire and were the subject of previously reported results ( Hamburg 1984). The results of this study will examine the suitability of the original chronosequence approach while providing a robust examination of sequestration rates.

 

Soil profile from a quantitative pit in an abandoned plowed field.

Updated 05/22/2008
envstudies@brown.edu