This
research investigates how land use in the shortgrass steppe of eastern
Colorado impacts short
and long-term water, carbon and energy dynamics. A large and
homogeneous area of Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP) grassland near Briggsdale, Colorado, was selected
for this
experiment and divided into three 40 hectare plots. An open-path eddy
flux
system was established in each plot and measurements made during a
baseline
comparison prior to land use transformation.
The three treatments include an un-grazed grassland (control), a
moderate intensity grazing treatment, and a dry-land agricultural
rotation
(winter wheat-hay millet; considered optimal for this low rainfall area
of Colorado). We report on the trajectories of carbon,
water and energy fluxes in theses three land use systems and analyze
how
altered carbon storage and water use efficiency may impact short-term
land
surface-atmosphere interactions, as well as long-term source-sink
relationships, water conservation, productivity and sustainability.
Author: N.P. Hanan, T.C. Peterson, and C.A. Williams (tcpete at nrel dot colostate dot edu)
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