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An introduction to floodplain meadows
An introduction to floodplain meadows

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2 Meadows and climate change mitigation: soil carbon

Meadows are able to store large amounts of carbon in their soils, which would otherwise be released to the atmosphere. Much of the CO2 plants convert into sugar by photosynthesis is used to feed fungi living on their roots, which in turn store it deep in the soil (a process called sequestration). One of the ecosystem services that floodplain meadows provide is carbon sequestration. Here it is protected from being released back into the atmosphere.

Table 1 Soil carbon storage of selected floodplain land-use categories (0–15 cm Footnotes   1, except for floodplain meadows 0–10 cm Footnotes   2 )
Habitat Carbon storage: Soil carbon in tonnes per hectare
Arable and horticulture 47.3
Intensively managed grassland 67.2
Neutral grassland 68.7
Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland 73.0
Species-rich floodplain meadow 109.2

Footnotes  

Footnotes   1 0–15 cm data from Chamberlain et al. (2010).

Footnotes  

Footnotes   2 0–10 cm data from Lawson et al. (2018).

Floodplain meadows sequester more carbon than an intensively managed grassland with only one or two plant species, due to their high diversity. The associated root diversity (see Figure 2) means more of the soil volume is used, allowing higher storage of carbon.

Described image
Figure 2 Rooting structure of selected floodplain-meadow species.
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A graphic showing a range of different plant species above ground, along with their varied roots structure below ground. Some roots are short and spread just below the surface, others are deep rooting, growing to depths of more than 2 m.

Figure 2 Rooting structure of selected floodplain-meadow species.

Additionally, floodplain meadows require no artificial fertilisers for the food they provide, which reduces their carbon footprint. You can find out more about this in the session on food security.

Figure 3 shows how carbon is cycled in a floodplain meadow.

Described image
Figure 3 Carbon cycling in a meadow managed through annual haymaking and aftermath grazing in a pasture-fed system.
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An infographic showing carbon taken from the atmosphere by plants and deposited in the soil through root exudates. Plants containing carbon are eaten by animals who then release some back to the atmosphere. Carbon is removed in the form of hay and used when driving tractors.

Figure 3 Carbon cycling in a meadow managed through annual haymaking and aftermath grazing in a pasture-fed system.

Activity 1

Timing: Allow about 5 minutes

Using just three of the species shown in Figure 2, select a meadow ecosystem that you think would do well for carbon storage. Comment on why you selected the particular species combination.

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Discussion

Here is an example answer:

I selected these three species: great burnet, meadowsweet and birdsfoot trefoil.

I selected them for the diversity of their root systems, covering the ranges from less than 20 cm to more than 2 metre and 40 cm. This hopefully means the soil space is used more efficiently. Moreover there is also a variation of the species shoots, which will also enable higher above ground biomass storage.