Our research with the Working Lands Innovation Center (WLIC) uses intensive soil sampling and continuous automated chamber greenhouse gas measurements over large-scale treatment plots. The aim of the project is to quantify the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reduction potential of soil amendments (particularly combinations of ground rock, biochar, and compost) applied to rangeland soils in California’s Sierra Foothills.
As part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) Healthy Soils Program, we are also studying the importance of compost type, number of compost applications, and the effect of grassfire on soil carbon sequestration and soil nitrogen cycling. Together, findings from this ongoing research inform land management practices that effectively sequester carbon dioxide, increase plant productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from California rangelands.
