Both overgrazing and climate change contribute to grassland degradation in the alpine regions of China and negatively affect soil carbon and nitrogen pools. We quantified changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and tot...Both overgrazing and climate change contribute to grassland degradation in the alpine regions of China and negatively affect soil carbon and nitrogen pools. We quantified changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in black soil beach (BSB). We measured SOC and TN in severely degraded and non-degraded grasslands to calculate differences in carbon and nitrogen storage, and field survey results were extrapolated to the entire headwaters area of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (36.3xlos krn~) to determine SOC and TN losses from these grasslands. We also evaluated changes in SOC and TN in severely degraded grasslands that were artificially re-vegetated five, seven and nine years ago. Totally 92.43 Tg C and 7.08 Tg N were lost from the BSB in the headwater area, which was approximately 50% of the original C and N soil pools. Re-vegetation of the degraded grasslands in the headwater area would result in a gain of 32.71 Tg C in the soil after five years, a loss of 5.5a Tg C after seven years and an increase of 44.15 Tg C after nine years. The TN increased by 53.09% and 59.98% after five and nine years, respectively, while it decreased by 4.92% after seven years of re-vegetation. The results indicate that C and N stocks followed a "V" shaped pattern with re- vegetation time. Understanding plant-soil interactions during succession of artificially planting grassland ecosystems is essential for developing scientifically sound management strategies for the effectively re-vegetated BSB.展开更多
Understanding the spatial variability of soil carbon (C) storage and its relationship with climate and soil texture is critical for developing regional C models and for predicting the potential impact of climate cha...Understanding the spatial variability of soil carbon (C) storage and its relationship with climate and soil texture is critical for developing regional C models and for predicting the potential impact of climate change on soil C storage. On the basis of soil data from a transect across the Inner Mongolian grasslands, we determined the quantitative relationships of C and nitrogen (N) in bulk soil and particle-size fractions (sand, silt, and clay) with climate and soil texture to evaluate the major factors controlling soil C and N storage and to predict the effect of climate changes on soil C and N storage. The contents of C and N in the bulk soil and the different fractions in the 0 20 and 20 40 cm soil layers were positively correlated with the mean annum precipitation (MAP) and negatively correlated with the mean annual temperature (MAT). The responses of C storage in the soil and particle-size fractions to MAP and MAT were more sensitive in the 0-20 cm than in the 2(~40 cm soil layer. Although MAP and MAT were both important factors influencing soil C storage, the models that include only MAP could well explain the variation in soil C storage in the Inner Mongolian grasslands. Because of the high correlation between MAP and MAT in the region, the models including MAT did not significantly enhance the model precision. Moreover, the contribution of the fine fraction (silt and clay) to the variation in soil C storage was rather small because of the very low fine fraction content in the Inner Mongolian grasslands.展开更多
基金financially supported by the grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology,China (Grant No. 2012BAC01B02)the Ministry of Environmental Protection,China (Grant No. 201209033)
文摘Both overgrazing and climate change contribute to grassland degradation in the alpine regions of China and negatively affect soil carbon and nitrogen pools. We quantified changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in black soil beach (BSB). We measured SOC and TN in severely degraded and non-degraded grasslands to calculate differences in carbon and nitrogen storage, and field survey results were extrapolated to the entire headwaters area of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (36.3xlos krn~) to determine SOC and TN losses from these grasslands. We also evaluated changes in SOC and TN in severely degraded grasslands that were artificially re-vegetated five, seven and nine years ago. Totally 92.43 Tg C and 7.08 Tg N were lost from the BSB in the headwater area, which was approximately 50% of the original C and N soil pools. Re-vegetation of the degraded grasslands in the headwater area would result in a gain of 32.71 Tg C in the soil after five years, a loss of 5.5a Tg C after seven years and an increase of 44.15 Tg C after nine years. The TN increased by 53.09% and 59.98% after five and nine years, respectively, while it decreased by 4.92% after seven years of re-vegetation. The results indicate that C and N stocks followed a "V" shaped pattern with re- vegetation time. Understanding plant-soil interactions during succession of artificially planting grassland ecosystems is essential for developing scientifically sound management strategies for the effectively re-vegetated BSB.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.31270519,31070431 and 41373080)the State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology,China(No.LFSE2013-03)
文摘Understanding the spatial variability of soil carbon (C) storage and its relationship with climate and soil texture is critical for developing regional C models and for predicting the potential impact of climate change on soil C storage. On the basis of soil data from a transect across the Inner Mongolian grasslands, we determined the quantitative relationships of C and nitrogen (N) in bulk soil and particle-size fractions (sand, silt, and clay) with climate and soil texture to evaluate the major factors controlling soil C and N storage and to predict the effect of climate changes on soil C and N storage. The contents of C and N in the bulk soil and the different fractions in the 0 20 and 20 40 cm soil layers were positively correlated with the mean annum precipitation (MAP) and negatively correlated with the mean annual temperature (MAT). The responses of C storage in the soil and particle-size fractions to MAP and MAT were more sensitive in the 0-20 cm than in the 2(~40 cm soil layer. Although MAP and MAT were both important factors influencing soil C storage, the models that include only MAP could well explain the variation in soil C storage in the Inner Mongolian grasslands. Because of the high correlation between MAP and MAT in the region, the models including MAT did not significantly enhance the model precision. Moreover, the contribution of the fine fraction (silt and clay) to the variation in soil C storage was rather small because of the very low fine fraction content in the Inner Mongolian grasslands.