Long‐term terrestrial carbon dynamics in the Midwestern United States during 1850–2015: Roles of land use and cover change and agricultural management

To meet the increasing food and biofuel demand, the Midwestern United States has become one of the most intensively human‐disturbed hotspots, characterized by widespread cropland expansion and various management practices. However, the role of human activities in the carbon (C) cycling across managed landscape remains far from certain. In this study, based on state‐ and national census, field experiments, and model simulation, we comprehensively examined long‐term carbon storage change in response to land use and cover change (LUCC) and agricultural management in the Midwest from 1850 to 2015. We also quantified estimation uncertainties related to key parameter values. Model estimation showed LUCC led to a reduction of 1.35 Pg (with a range of 1.3–1.4 Pg) in vegetation C pool of the Midwest, yet agricultural management barely affected vegetation C change. In comparison, LUCC reduced SOC by 4.5 Pg (3.1 to 6.2 Pg), while agricultural management practices increased SOC stock by 0.9 Pg. Moreover, we found 45% of the study area was characterized by continuously decreasing SOC caused by LUCC, and SOC in 13% and 31% of the area was fully and partially recovered, respectively, since 1850. Agricultural management was estimated to increase the area of full recovery and partial recovery by 8.5% and 1.1%. Our results imply that LUCC plays an essential role in regional C balance, and more importantly, sustainable land management can be beneficial for strengthening C sequestration of the agroecosystems in the Midwestern US, which may serve as an important contributor to C sinks in the US.