Carbon Balance of Miscanthus Biomass from Rhizomes and Seedlings

Abstract

Biological carbon sequestration is considered an important strategy to mitigate climate change. The energy crop Miscanthus × giganteus has great sequestration potential. The objective of this study was to determine: a) the dry matter yield and carbon content in aboveground and belowground biomass; b) the total carbon balance in the plant and soil pool. The study was conducted in continental Croatia (N 45°51′01.32″; E 16°10′35.85″) by the destructive harvesting of five-year-old Miscanthus × giganteus stands established by rhizomes (MxgR) and seedlings (MxgS) in the spring of 2021. The soil sampling was conducted in 2016 and 2022. The average amount of carbon in the aboveground biomass of MxgR and MxgS is 11.51 t/ha and 9.87 t/ha, respectively, and in the belowground biomass it is 13.18 t/ha and 14.90 t/ha, respectively. The carbon balance in the plant pool of MxgR is three times lower (1.67 t/ha) than that in the plant pool of MxgS (5.03 t/ha). The total soil carbon content increased by 8.7 t/ha under MxgR and by 14.8 t/ha under MxgS during 2016–2022. Therefore, under the studied agroecological conditions, seedlings should be preferred over rhizomes in the selection of planting material. The obtained data represent valuable input data for sequestration modeling.