caa a22 4500 445383844 CHVBK 20180317143025.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10021-011-9428-8 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10021-011-9428-8 Optimal Fire Regimes for Soil Carbon Storage in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia [Elektronische Daten] [Anna Richards, Garry Cook, Brian Lynch] Modification of fire regimes in tropical savannas can have significant impacts on the global carbon (C) cycle, and therefore, on the climate system. In Australian tropical savannas, there has been recent, large-scale implementation of fire management that aims to decrease Kyoto-compliant non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions by reducing late dry season intense fires through strategic early dry season burning. However, there is no accounting for changes to soil C stocks resulting from changes to savanna fire management, although impacts on these pools may be considerable. We present a hypothesis that soil C storage is greatest under low intensity fires with an intermediate fire return interval. Simulations using the CENTURY Soil Organic Matter Model confirmed this hypothesis with greatest soil C storage under a fire regime of one low intensity fire every 5years. Key areas of uncertainty for CENTURY model simulations include fine root dynamics, charcoal production and nitrogen (N) cycling, and better understanding of these processes could improve model predictions. Soil C stocks measured in the field after 5years of annual, 3year and unburned fire treatments were not significantly different (range 41-58tha−1), but further CENTURY modelling suggests that changes in fire management will take up to 100years to have a detectable impact (+4tha−1) on soil C stocks. However, implementation of fire management that reduces fire frequency and intensity within the large area of intact savanna landscapes in northern Australia could result in emissions savings of 0.17tCO2-eha−1y−1, four times greater than reductions of non-CO2 emissions. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2011 fire frequency nationallicence carbon sequestration nationallicence CENTURY soil organic matter model nationallicence soil nitrogen nationallicence fire return interval nationallicence fire intensity nationallicence greenhouse gas abatement nationallicence Richards Anna CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, PMB 44, 0822, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia aut Cook Garry CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, PMB 44, 0822, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia aut Lynch Brian Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Goyder Building, 25 Chung Wah Tce, 0831, Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia aut Ecosystems Springer-Verlag 14/3(2011-04-01), 503-518 1432-9840 14:3<503 2011 14 10021 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9428-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9428-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Richards Anna CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, PMB 44, 0822, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Cook Garry CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, PMB 44, 0822, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Lynch Brian Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Goyder Building, 25 Chung Wah Tce, 0831, Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Ecosystems Springer-Verlag 14/3(2011-04-01), 503-518 1432-9840 14:3<503 2011 14 10021 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer