{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/157007"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/157007","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Tradeoffs Between Aboveground and Soil Carbon Accumulation Following Forestation","abstract":"Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in global warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. One prevalent climate change mitigation strategy is tree planting, as trees sequester large amounts of carbon in their aboveground biomass. However, there is emerging evidence that under some conditions, soil carbon decreases following forestation, offsetting the carbon accumulated aboveground and rendering carbon sequestration efforts ineffective. The factors driving these changes in net ecosystem carbon are currently unknown. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis on the factors affecting aboveground biomass versus soil carbon (SOC) accumulation following forestation in grasslands and croplands. We considered the effects of prior land use, regrowth strategy, mycorrhizal associations, and environmental factors on total ecosystem carbon and SOC accumulation over time. Results indicate that while there is a tradeoff between SOC and aboveground carbon accumulation, the loss of SOC does not negate the increase in aboveground carbon following forestation. Sites with low initial SOC before forest establishment accumulate more SOC than sites with high SOC, regardless of prior land use. Overall, forest stand age, prior land use, regrowth strategy, and mycorrhizal associations drive carbon accumulation over time and should be considered in the context of future forestation projects implemented for carbon sequestration.","abstract_html":"Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in global warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. One prevalent climate change mitigation strategy is tree planting, as trees sequester large amounts of carbon in their aboveground biomass. However, there is emerging evidence that under some conditions, soil carbon decreases following forestation, offsetting the carbon accumulated aboveground and rendering carbon sequestration efforts ineffective. The factors driving these changes in net ecosystem carbon are currently unknown. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis on the factors affecting aboveground biomass versus soil carbon (SOC) accumulation following forestation in grasslands and croplands. We considered the effects of prior land use, regrowth strategy, mycorrhizal associations, and environmental factors on total ecosystem carbon and SOC accumulation over time. Results indicate that while there is a tradeoff between SOC and aboveground carbon accumulation, the loss of SOC does not negate the increase in aboveground carbon following forestation. Sites with low initial SOC before forest establishment accumulate more SOC than sites with high SOC, regardless of prior land use. Overall, forest stand age, prior land use, regrowth strategy, and mycorrhizal associations drive carbon accumulation over time and should be considered in the context of future forestation projects implemented for carbon sequestration.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schug, Jennifer Lin"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Terrer, César"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05","date_published":"2024-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:06Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/157007","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Terrer, César"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schug, Jennifer Lin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-09-24T18:26:25Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-09-24T18:26:25Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master","Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/157007"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in global warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. One prevalent climate change mitigation strategy is tree planting, as trees sequester large amounts of carbon in their aboveground biomass. However, there is emerging evidence that under some conditions, soil carbon decreases following forestation, offsetting the carbon accumulated aboveground and rendering carbon sequestration efforts ineffective. The factors driving these changes in net ecosystem carbon are currently unknown. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis on the factors affecting aboveground biomass versus soil carbon (SOC) accumulation following forestation in grasslands and croplands. We considered the effects of prior land use, regrowth strategy, mycorrhizal associations, and environmental factors on total ecosystem carbon and SOC accumulation over time. Results indicate that while there is a tradeoff between SOC and aboveground carbon accumulation, the loss of SOC does not negate the increase in aboveground carbon following forestation. Sites with low initial SOC before forest establishment accumulate more SOC than sites with high SOC, regardless of prior land use. Overall, forest stand age, prior land use, regrowth strategy, and mycorrhizal associations drive carbon accumulation over time and should be considered in the context of future forestation projects implemented for carbon sequestration."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.Eng."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Tradeoffs Between Aboveground and Soil Carbon Accumulation Following Forestation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Terrer, César"],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Schug, Jennifer Lin"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-09-24T18:26:25Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-09-24T18:26:25Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in global warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. One prevalent climate change mitigation strategy is tree planting, as trees sequester large amounts of carbon in their aboveground biomass. However, there is emerging evidence that under some conditions, soil carbon decreases following forestation, offsetting the carbon accumulated aboveground and rendering carbon sequestration efforts ineffective. The factors driving these changes in net ecosystem carbon are currently unknown. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis on the factors affecting aboveground biomass versus soil carbon (SOC) accumulation following forestation in grasslands and croplands. We considered the effects of prior land use, regrowth strategy, mycorrhizal associations, and environmental factors on total ecosystem carbon and SOC accumulation over time. Results indicate that while there is a tradeoff between SOC and aboveground carbon accumulation, the loss of SOC does not negate the increase in aboveground carbon following forestation. Sites with low initial SOC before forest establishment accumulate more SOC than sites with high SOC, regardless of prior land use. Overall, forest stand age, prior land use, regrowth strategy, and mycorrhizal associations drive carbon accumulation over time and should be considered in the context of future forestation projects implemented for carbon sequestration."],"dc:description.degree":["M.Eng."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/157007"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"dc:rights.uri":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Tradeoffs Between Aboveground and Soil Carbon Accumulation Following Forestation"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master","Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:06Z"}