Dissertation Research: Pedogenesis and Anthropedogenesis on the Southern Piedmont

这项研究建立在当前关于美国东南部南部山前地区重新造林后深层土壤碳储存的研究基础上。在全球范围内，土壤中的碳含量比所有陆地植被中储存的碳都多。然而，大多数试图将碳储量与土地利用变化联系起来的研究忽略了一米以下的土壤。研究人员假设，上个世纪该地区普遍存在的植树造林趋势导致了深层的碳储存，这与土壤中铁的化学行为密切相关。为了验证这一假设，将对上个世纪重新造林或未重新造林的土壤进行专门的碳测量(放射性碳测年)，测量深度为两米。碳测量结果将与新的土壤铁分析结果一起解释，以提供对重新造林后深层土壤碳储量变化的洞察。在南皮德蒙特，到目前为止，重新造林的土地是主要的土地用途。该项目将通过展示植树造林如何影响深层土壤碳的储存来改善区域森林管理。该项目还将加强杜克大学、国际土壤碳网络的研究人员和德国地球科学研究中心计划之间的跨学科合作。所有项目数据将在网上免费提供，作为广泛传播的土壤碳数据库的一部分，供其他研究人员使用。成果还将在各种科学会议、同行评议出版物和关于土地使用的区域公开听证会上向不同受众介绍。

This study builds on current research focused on deep soil carbon storage following reforestation in the Southern Piedmont region of the southeastern United States. Globally, soil contains more carbon than that stored in all land vegetation. However, most studies trying to connect carbon storage with changes in land use have ignored soil deeper than one meter. The investigators hypothesize that the widespread trends of reforestation in this region over the last century have led to deep carbon storage that depends intimately on the chemical behavior of soil iron. To test this hypothesis, specialized carbon measurements (radiocarbon dating) will be made to a depth of two meters in soils that have been either reforested or not reforested over the last century. The carbon measurements will be interpreted alongside results of new analyses of soil iron to provide insights on changes in deep soil carbon storage following reforestation. In the Southern Piedmont, reforested land is by far the dominant land use. This project will improve regional management of forests by showing how reforestation affects the storage of deep soil carbon. The project will also enhance an interdisciplinary collaborations among Duke University, researchers in the International Soil Carbon Network and the German GeoForschungsZentrum program. All project data will be made freely available online as part of a widely disseminated soil carbon database for use by other researchers. Results will also be presented to diverse audiences at various scientific meetings, in peer-reviewed publications, and at regional public hearings on land use.