Carbon storage in the Pampa biome: Increasing productivity and conservation of natural grasslands in southern Brazil with “improvement technologies”

Increasing forage and meat productivity in the natural pastures of the Pampa biome is crucial to prevent their conversion into annual crops and planted pastures and forests. This approach serves as a strategy for preserving ecological balance and conserving biodiversity. This research evaluates the effects of various improvement technologies on forage production and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks in the southern grasslands of Brazil. The improvement technologies included liming, fertilization with N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), as well as the overseeding of exotic forage species. The assessments were carried out on five farms located in the Pampa biome. The use of improvement technologies showed great potential for increasing forage production and C and N stocks in these environments. Sites with soils of lower natural fertility and, consequently, lower pasture productivity, are more responsive to the application of improvement technologies. Environments with soils with high initial reserves of C and N can suffer losses in their reserves in the first few years after the use of improvement technologies.