Biomass and Carbon Sequestration Potential of Winter Wheat and Barley Agroecosystems in Continental Croatia

One of the most significant questions of the world that struggles with how to address climate change is how to reduce increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One of the strategies for climate change mitigation is carbon sequestration i.e. storing of atmospheric carbon (C) into the plant/soil pool. This accomplishes not only the aim of reducing levels of atmospheric CO2 but it is also improving soil health, leading to higher yields, nutrient contents and other agroecological benefits. The relationship between carbon sequestration and plant/soil carbon input is complex and depends on many elements like land use types i.e. crop type and cultivar, soil properties, agrotechnical measures, etc. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the biomass yields and carbon sequestration potentials of two arable crops (winter wheat and winter barley) and their four different cultivars. In order to determine biomass yields, biomass carbon contents and sequestration potentials, four different cultivars of winter wheat (Srpanjka, Renata, El Nino, Kraljica) and winter barley (Rex, Lord, Barun, Panonac) were destructively harvested at three randomly chosen 1 m2 of each cultivar in continental part of Croatia at 2021 harvest. In this study, the above-ground (grain and straw: stems + leaves + chaff) and below-ground (roots + stubble) biomass yields, the allocation of atmospheric carbon within biomass and sequestration potentials od each cultivar will be presented.