Effect of fire disturbance on active organic carbon of Larix gmelinii forest soil in Northeastern China

Active organic carbon in soil has high biological activity and plays an important role in forest soil ecosystem structure and function. Fire is an important disturbance factor in many forest ecosystems and occurs frequently over forested soils. However, little is known about its impact on soil active organic carbon (SAOC), which is important to the global carbon cycle. To investigate this issue, we studied the active organic carbon in soils in the Larix gmelinii forests of the Da Xing'an Mountains (Greater Xing'an Mountains) in Northeastern China, which had been burned by high-intensity wildfire in two different years (2002 and 2008). Soil samples were collected monthly during the 2011 growing season from over 12 sample plots in burned and unburned soils and then analyzed to examine the dynamics of SAOC. Our results showed that active organic carbon content changed greatly after fire disturbance in relation to the amount of time elapsed since the fire. There were significant differences in microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon, light fraction organic carbon, particulate organic carbon between burned and unburned sample plots in 2002 and 2008 (p < 0.05). The correlations between active organic carbon and environmental factors such as water content, pH value and temperature of soils, and correlations between each carbon component changed after fire disturbance, also in relation to time since the fire. The seasonal dynamics of SAOC in all of the sample plots changed after fire disturbance; peak values appeared during the growing season. In plots burned in 2002 and 2008, the magnitude and occurrence time of peak values differed. Our findings provide basic data regarding the impact of fire disturbance on boreal forest soil-carbon cycling, carbon-balance mechanisms, and carbon contributions of forest ecosystem after wildfire disturbance.

Long-term agricultural activity affects anthropogenic soil on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Anthropogenic activities largely influence the soil quality of agricultural fields and the composition of soil. Samples of typical anthropogenic Loutu soil in the Guanzhong area of the Loess Plateau, Shaanxi Province, China were collected and measured for soil compaction, bulk density, total organic carbon（TOC）, active organic carbon（AOC）, and soil enzyme activities to investigate spatial variations in soil quality. The results indicate that soil compaction and bulk density increased with increasing distance from the farm village, whereas soil TOC, AOC, and soil enzyme activities firstly increased and subsequently decreased with increasing distance from the farm village. All of the tested parameters presented clear concentric distribution. Vertically, soil compaction and bulk density in the topsoil were lower than those in the subsoil, but all other tested parameters in the topsoil were significantly higher than those in the subsoil. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between organic carbon content and enzyme activities, confirming that the spatial distribution of Loutu soil characteristics has been affected by long-term anthropogenic activities to some extent. The results of this study imply that the use of farmyard manure and appropriate deep plowing are important and effective ways to maintain and improve soil quality.

Removal of 2-ClBP from soil–water system using activated carbon supported nanoscale zerovalent iron

We explored the feasibility and removal mechanism of removing 2-chlorobiphenyl（2-Cl BP）from soil–water system using granular activated carbon（GAC） impregnated with nanoscale zerovalent iron（reactive activated carbon or RAC）.The RAC samples were successfully synthesized by the liquid precipitation method.The mesoporous GAC based RAC with low iron content（1.32%） exhibited higher 2-Cl BP removal efficiency（54.6%） in the water phase.The result of Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model implied that the different molecular structures between 2-Cl BP and trichloroethylene（TCE） resulted in more difference in dechlorination reaction rates on RAC than adsorption capacities.Compared to removing2-Cl BP in the water phase,RAC removed the 2-Cl BP more slowly in the soil phase due to the significant external mass transfer resistance.However,in the soil phase,a better removal capacity of RAC was observed than its base GAC because the chemical dechlorination played a more important role in total removal process for 2-Cl BP.This important result verified the effectiveness of RAC for removing 2-Cl BP in the soil phase.Although reducing the total RAC removal rate of 2-Cl BP,soil organic matter（SOM）,especially the soft carbon,also served as an electron transfer medium to promote the dechlorination of 2-Cl BP in the long term.