Balance of sequestrated carbon in miscanthus biomass from different plant materials

Jedna od mogućnosti ublažavanja klimatskih promjena je biološka sekvestracija ugljika koja predstavlja usvajanje atmosferskog ugljika od strane biljaka procesom fotosinteze. Energetske kulture poput miskantusa (Miscanthus x giganteus), uz produkciju značajne količine biomase dostupne za proizvodnju energije, također imaju i veliki sekvestracijski potencijal. Stoga je cilj rada utvrditi količinu ugljika u podzemnoj i nadzemnoj biomasi miskantusa te utvrditi bilancu sekvestriranog ugljika u odnosu na dva različita sadna materijala (presadnice/rizomi). Istraživanje je provedeno na pokušalištu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu Agronomskog fakulteta „Šašinovec“ tijekom travnja 2021. godine. Prosječna količina ugljika u nasadu miskantusa uzgojenom iz rizoma iznosi 11,51 t/ha u nadzemnoj biomasi i 13,18 t/ha u podzemnoj biomasi do 25 cm dubine. U miskantusu uzgojenom iz presadnica, prosječna količina ugljika u nadzemnoj biomasi iznosi 9,87 t/ha i 14,90 t/ha u podzemnoj biomasi. Statističkom analizom nije utvrđena značajna razlika u sadržaju ugljika u podzemnoj i nadzemnoj biomasi između istraživanih sadnih materijala. Kod oba istraživana sadna materijala je utvrđena pozitivna i značajno različita godišnja bilanca ugljika, koja je kod miskantusa uzgojenog iz rizoma tri puta manja (1,66 t/ha) u odnosu na bilancu utvrđenu kod miskantusa uzgojenog iz presadnica (5,04 t/ha). Provedenim istraživanjem je utvrđeno kako oba istraživana sadna materijala miskantusa doprinose ublažavanju klimatskih promjena ali da prednost prilikom odabira sadnog materijala miskantusa bi trebalo dati presadnicama u odnosu na rizome.One of the possibilities to mitigate climate change is biological carbon sequestration, that represents the uptake of atmospheric carbon by plants through the process of photosynthesis. Energy crops like miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), beside the production of significant amount of biomass available for energy production, also have a great sequestration potential. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the amount of carbon in miscanthus belowground and aboveground biomass, as well as balance of sequestered carbon in relation to two different planting materials (seedlings / rhizomes). The average amount of carbon in miscanthus cultivated from rhizomes amounts 11.51 t/ha in the above-ground biomass and 13.18 t/ha in the below-ground biomass. In miscanthus cultivated from seedlings, average amount of carbon amounts 9.87 t/ha in the above-ground biomass and 14.90 t/ha in the below-ground biomass. Statistical analysis did not determine a significant difference in the above- and below-ground carbon content between the studied planting materials. A positive and significantly different carbon balance was determined for both studied planting materials. Carbon balance of miscanthus cultivated from rhizomes was three times lower (1.66 t/ha) compared to miscanthus cultivated from seedlings (5.04 t/ha). The research showed that miscanthus cultivated from both studied planting materials contribute to climate change mitigation, but the preference during the selection of planting material should be given to seedlings compared to rhizomes