02644naa a2200337 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400270006010000140008724500970010126000090019852017320020765000200193965000130195965000190197265300290199165300180202070000170203870000150205570000220207070000170209270000190210970000170212870000160214570000140216170000140217570000150218970000200220470000170222477300650224120749842021-12-22       2017    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1111/gcb.135732DOI1 aSTAHL, C.  aContinuous soil carbon storage of old permanent pastures in Amazonia.h[electronic resource]  c2017  aAmazonian forests continuously accumulate carbon (C) in biomass and in soil, representing a carbon sink of 0.42?0.65 GtC yr−1. In recent decades, more than 15% of Amazonian forests have been converted into pastures, resulting in net C emissions (~200 tC ha−1) due to biomass burning and litter mineralization in the first years after deforestation. However, little is known about the capacity of tropical pastures to restore a C sink. Our study shows in French Amazonia that the C storage observed in native forest can be partly restored in old (≥24 year) tropical pastures managed with a low stocking rate (±1 LSU ha−1) and without the use of fire since their establishment. A unique combination of a large chronosequence study and eddy covariance measurements showed that pastures stored between −1.27 ± 0.37 and −5.31 ± 2.08 tC ha−1 yr−1 while the nearby native forest stored −3.31 ± 0.44 tC ha−1 yr−1. This carbon is mainly sequestered in the humus of deep soil layers (20?100 cm), whereas no C storage was observed in the 0- to 20-cm layer. C storage in C4 tropical pasture is associated with the installation and development of C3 species, which increase either the input of N to the ecosystem or the C:N ratio of soil organic matter. Efforts to curb deforestation remain an obvious priority to preserve forest C stocks and biodiversity. However, our results show that if sustainable management is applied in tropical pastures coming from deforestation (avoiding fires and overgrazing, using a grazing rotation plan and a mixture of C3 and C4 species), they can ensure a continuous C storage, thereby adding to the current C sink of Amazonian forests.  aFloresta Nativa  aPastagem  aPastagem Mista  aArmazenamento de carbono  aSolo profundo1 aFONTAINE, S.1 aKLUMPP, K.1 aPICON-COCHARD, C.1 aGRISE, M. M.1 aDEZÉCACHE, C.1 aPONCHANT, l.1 aFREYCON, V.1 aBLANC, L.1 aBONAL, D.1 aBURBAN, B.1 aSOUSSANA, J.-F.1 aBLANFORT, V.  tGlobal Change Biologygv. 23, n. 8, p. 3382-3392, Aug. 2017.