Process modelling to assess the sequestration and productivity benefits of soil carbon for pasture

Abstract

Soil carbon is often cited as having potential to provide both climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits. Given the extensive ecosystem service benefits of soil organic matter (SOM), including increasing N supply and plant-available water-holding capacity (PAWHC), we hypothesized that on-farm benefits provide ample justification for maintaining high levels of SOM, separate to its carbon sequestration potential. To investigate this we used whole-farm system modelling to simulate pastures with high SOM (initial carbon amount similar to long-term pasture) and low SOM (initial carbon condition similar to long-term cropping). These scenarios are deliberately confounded with land use chang..